ENTERING THE LION’S DEN
Hearts are ready to rumble to prove we’re the rightful kings of the Capital jungle
CHRISTOPHE BERRA’S Tynecastle homecoming was sealed during a pre-season initiation ceremony when he belted out The Lion Sleeps
Tonight in front of his team-mates. Tonight, on home turf, the Hearts captain will turn his attention towards awakening the big beast in Edinburgh he feels should be kings of the capital jungle once more.
During Berra’s first spell at the Gorgie club, from 2003 to 2009, Hearts won nine, drew six and lost seven capital clashes with Hibs.
In manager Craig Levein’s long association as a Hearts player and then boss, he has lost just seven out of 53 derbies.
Yet for a team so used to being the dominant force in the derby, Hearts are now without a victory in their last eight.
That miserable run includes Hibs knocking them out of the Scottish Cup for the last two seasons, with the Easter Road side going on to win the trophy in 2016, ending a 114-year hoodoo.
The two foes will meet again in the Scottish Cup next month at Tynecastle.
And 32-year-old Berra has challenged his team-mates to start restoring the natural order in Edinburgh and shift the balance of power in the city from green back to maroon.
‘The last time I was here at Hearts we were the more dominant team in the derbies,’ said the Scotland international. ‘It’s Hibs’ turn at the moment but it’s up to us as players for Hearts to turn it around.
‘Neil Lennon inherited a Hibs team that was doing well and had won the Scottish Cup. It was already a good, balanced squad and he has added quality to it. He’s progressed Hibs.
‘But our manager is an experienced manager who knows what this derby is all about. He’s managed in these games, he’s played in these games and over the piece he has a great record in them.
‘He will be looking to continue that and turn it back round to the maroon side of Edinburgh.’
During last week’s AGM, a fan asked Levein when Hearts would ‘stop being bullied by Hibs in derby matches’. Levein replied: ‘Nobody has sat in that stand feeling sick more than me.
‘We’ve been poor in derby matches in the last couple of years and we will be ready for the next one. I can’t guarantee we will win but we won’t be bullied, that’s for sure.’
His captain, Berra, backed that up by insisting his team-mates will all be ready to win their personal battles to pave the way for team success.
‘You have to dominate your individual opponent,’ he nodded. ‘You have to show no fear and try to get the better of whoever you are playing against.
‘And if you do that in eight, nine or ten positions across the pitch you are more than likely going to win the game. It’s about giving your all. It’s not always going to be pretty. It will be hell for leather at times. But Hibs will be wanting to get in our faces and make it difficult for us, too. ‘We have more experienced players now like myself, Don Cowie, Kyle Lafferty, Aaron Hughes and Michael Smith.
‘We have good players from Britain and other countries but the one thing that is certain is that the gaffer demands hard work from everyone. And if he doesn’t get that you will know about it quickly.’
The last time Hearts played at Tynecastle, Brendan Rodgers’ previously invincible side were thumped 4-0. Unbeaten in their last seven matches, Berra believes his on-form team can end their dismal derby form in front of the Tynecastle bearpit.
‘If we can recreate the atmosphere against Celtic a week last Sunday, we have got a good chance,’ he added.
‘We have beaten the Old Firm in the past but not like that. We deserved to win and it was comfortable in the end. To win 4-0 against Celtic happens rarely. People might expect that now but we’ve got young players in our team and there will be inconsistency.
‘But we will have to deal with that. And it will be up to the senior players to help the younger ones through it.
‘We know it will be difficult against Hibs. They have had a good season and they have a settled team.
‘We are still missing key players and we are chopping and changing. But it’s no excuse. It’s a derby and if we perform like we have in recent weeks we can do well.’
Berra has played in derbies down in England for Wolves against West Brom and for Ipswich against Norwich City.
However, as an Edinburgh boy, nothing compares to the capital clash. He is hoping for a repeat of his favourite Hearts v Hibs match, which also occurred at Christmas time, on Boxing Day 2006.
‘We were 2-0 up,’ he recalled. ‘Then Dean Shiels was sent off for Hibs for pushing Craig Gordon after Shiels had just scored a penalty to make it 2-2. But then Saulius Mikoliunas smashed in a great winner to make it 3-2 for us. So, yeah, that would have to be my favourite derby.
‘I’ve played in other derbies but I’m a local lad from Edinburgh so this one is different.
‘I live in the city and I know what it’s like to get stick off Hibs fans. It doesn’t bother me. It’s not nasty. It’s just a bit of banter.
‘I just think it means a lot more as a local boy than to someone from, say, London.
‘But for everyone involved in the derby on Wednesday it’s going to be an electric night under the lights and live on television. You can’t beat it. These are the games you live for as a footballer.’