'Nowhere to hide' in derby spotlight - and Hibs No. 1 wouldn't have it any other way as he eyes Hearts clash

He’ll reserve to the right to change his mind in the event of the worst happening, obviously. But the heat, the hostility and the unrelenting glare of the Edinburgh derby? This is precisely why Jordan Smith joined Hibs.

The former Nottingham Forest keeper knocked back opportunities to be a guaranteed starter at lesser clubs competing in low-profile environments when he signed on at Easter Road in the summer. The fact that he was acquired as a back-up to Josef Bursik was, he insists, just the sort of challenge he fancied.

Now established as first choice, and eagerly anticipating a Boxing Day trip to Tynecastle, the experienced goalie loves the fact that there is “no hiding place” in games of this magnitude. No matter how much a player may crave temporary invisibility, when things go awry, they’ve got no choice but to cope with the pitiless spotlight exposing every flaw and foible.

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Smith, excellent in yesterday’s stunning 3-1 win over Aberdeen at Pittodrie, confesses that he’s been asking team-mates plenty of questions about the whole Gorgie experience for those flying Hibs colours. To be honest, he’s not quite sure how much truth there is in some of the answers received …

Grinning from ear to ear, the 30-year-old said: “Well, if I listened to everything, I think I'd be really, really nervous about it! It's a massive game. The build-up is there, all the boys talk about it.

“The atmosphere changes derby week, it really does, and that's a testament to the size of the clubs and to the size of the city that we represent. In all honesty, I'm just really looking forward to it.

“It was a stalemate the last time we played them, at Easter Road; it’s probably going to be a lot more hostile this time. But our travelling fans have been fantastic, so they'll be there in their numbers again at Tynecastle.

“I’m just looking forward to it, but I think that probably comes from the fact we've found a little bit of good form. But we know that we need to do everything in our power to win that game and send our fans home happy because it's probably one of the biggest.”

Having spoken previously about his desire to prove himself at the highest possible level, Smith agreed when it was suggested that this sort of rivalry was exactly what he had in mind – in terms of profile and importance – when he took the call from David Gray during the close season, explaining: “One hundred per cent, yes. You've hit the nail on the head. I made no excuses about wanting to play for what I'd say are elite clubs, and this certainly is one of them.

“For that exact reason, so many eyes are going to be on this game and there's going to be scrutiny on everything from that first whistle. So, you have to perform. There are no excuses.

“There certainly isn’t going to be anywhere to hide. The pitch doesn’t swallow you up, believe me, and I’ve been in positions before where I hoped it would!

“It’s one we're looking forward to, but one we're taking very, very seriously, as I'm sure they are as well.”

Nottingham Forest v Derby County experience

In his seven years at Forest, where the local derby rivals are, erm, Derby County, Smith had limited exposure to truly huge fixtures in his 50-plus games for the former European Cup winners. He was around the City Ground long enough, however, to know how these properly traditional rivalries work.

“Whichever club you're at, it's painted as the biggest game ever, and that is purely because it means so much to the people who we represent, the fans,” he said, adding: “I played in two for Forest against Derby, and I think I got one draw and one loss. My record in derbies isn't great, so that’s definitely something I'll be looking to turn around!”

As the man charged with keeping goals out, nothing makes Smith happier than seeing his team-mates at the other end of the park suddenly hitting a rich vein of form. Back-to-back games where they’ve scored three goals suggests Gray’s men are doing something right.

“Questions have been asked of all of us, and rightly so, since the beginning of the season, and the best way to answer the critics is to go out there and perform,” said Smith, the Englishman adding: “I think the boys at the top end of the pitch have done that, putting the ball in the back of the net, especially the way that they have done.

“Martin Boyle was incredible against Aberdeen, showed that composure; Nicky Cadden - I don't think he could have hit it any harder, but finding the back of the net is what's really important. It's another game where we've scored three goals. We probably had games earlier this season where we needed to score four or five to get anything out of the game, and that's just not sustainable.

“But the fact that we're scoring three certainly makes my job and the defenders' jobs an awful lot easier to ensure that we can get three points that way. And we needed to get another win off the back of last week against Ross County.

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“It's no secret; we feel like we're fighting at the wrong end of the division, so to get that little bit of breathing space is really nice. To get the win against Aberdeen is massive and it just instils that belief that we are a good team, we can find different ways to get the job done and that's what we've done.

“We had a bit of an internal meeting - which has been no secret - between the players, saying that the standards just haven't been good enough. And in the last couple of weeks, we still feel like we could have played a lot better. But ultimately, the results are what count and the points on the board are what matter, so we're really pleased that we can find a way to do that.”

As they approach a fixture where no points are ever awarded for artistic impression, it’s only natural that Hibs should be focused on simply getting the job done. And, as a nice byproduct of all the joy that would spark, proving Smith correct in his decision to go all-in at a club where these things mean everything, absolutely everything, to so many.