CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

sport@dailyrecord.co.uk was of course with Hibs, who have fared little better since then with only a 2-2 draw at home to Dundee to show for their recent outings.

While the majority will assume the bubble has burst after so much early excitement in the capital, Brown is not so quick to write them off.

The way he sees it both teams still have the class that got everybody talking excitedly about their chances of giving Celtic and Rangers something to worry about as the season wears on.

Brown said: “The last few weeks have been disappointing because through here we thought we were going to make a genuine challenge.

“But I wouldn’t give up on them yet! The challenge from the east might still be genuine.

“I think you’ll find that Hearts and Hibs pick up again and the two Edinburgh clubs will still have a big say on how the league works out. They’ve just got to get through this spell.”

Brown has attended many of the games at both Tynecastle and Easter Road this season and while he has no doubt the root cause of battlescarred Hearts’ recent woes, the problem with Hibs has left him scratching his head.

He added: “People can say it’s making excuses for Hearts but you can’t underestimate the significance of the injury problems they’ve had.

“They’ve lost really, really good players – in particular Naismith. He is a massive presence in the Hearts team, he dominates the whole group. His influence is measured in much more than just his goals and when you take that type of character and ability out of the team it’s bound to be missed.

“Jim Jefferies and I gave him his debut at Killie and even as a laddie he was an important influence in the game.

“Now he’s experienced he is a massive figurehead for the players around him on the park and in the dressing room.

“Of course you should still be able to go to Paisley and get something out of the game so they will be disappointed by

EUAN McLEAN