BRING IT ON RON!
Neilson hits back at Hibs chief Gordon’s claim the Edinburgh derby has come too early... and says Hearts will relish the challenge
HEARTS boss Robbie Neilson has rubbished claims from Hibs owner Ron Gordon that tomorrow’s Edinburgh derby has been scheduled too early in the season.
In an interview which was broadcast online with Hibs podcasters last month, Gordon was scathing in his criticism of the SPFL.
Taking aim at the league’s governing body, he branded it ‘foolish’ and ‘absurd’ that his club’s first home game of the new season should be against rivals Hearts.
That came in the aftermath of the Easter Road side being knocked out of the Premier Sports Cup and being punished for fielding an ineligible player.
The cup disaster was part of a shaky start under new manager Lee Johnson, but Hibs steadied themselves with a 1-0 win at St Johnstone in last weekend’s Premiership opener.
Hearts also kicked off their campaign with a victory, beating Ross County 2-1 at Tynecastle — and Neilson is relishing an early crack at the derby.
The Tynecastle boss insists it gave his players added sharpness in pre-season knowing that Hibs were on the horizon early doors, as well as Europa League qualifiers later this month.
Dismissing the claims made by Gordon (below), Neilson said: ‘I look forward to it. I think when the fixtures come out, they (derbies) are the first ones you look for.
‘To get it early is great. We used it in pre-season. As in, the derby is the second game of the season away from home and you need to make sure you’re ready for it. I really think the players are.
‘I felt last week (against Ross County) that we were not quite where we wanted to be until the second half. But we’ve had another extra week’s training now and I think the boys are sharp and ready to go. Going into this game, we’ll always be at our top. ‘I think it’s great (to play it early in the season). You want to get a derby, to win this, to get momentum. ‘If we win on Sunday, it then sets us up well for the coming games as well, so the sooner the better I think. ‘I quite like them coming early in the season. In my experience, they usually come early. ‘It gives you a target in pre-season. You build up to it as it is early in the campaign.
‘You want to build that momentum. And there is nothing better than winning it. You always want to get your first win of the season. If you win the derby, it then gives you that push.’
With Hibs still trying to find their feet under Johnson, Hearts will travel across the city to Leith as favourites to win.
Neilson believes his players should embrace that tag and build on a good recent record against Hibs, which has seen them knock their rivals out of the Scottish Cup in each of the past two seasons.
The Tynecastle club are also flying high with European football to look forward to after last term’s third-placed Premiership finish.
Hibs, meanwhile, sacked two managers — Jack Ross and Shaun Maloney — in one season prior to appointing Johnson earlier this summer.
‘It’s a record, but you know what it is like when you come to these games. You need to do it again,’ added Neilson.
‘I know we’ve had a good couple of years against them, but we need to continue that into this season.
‘It’s part and parcel of playing for Hearts. When you play with bigger teams, you need to win football matches.
‘Are we comfortable being favourites? I would take being favourites every week if I could.
‘When you play at Hearts, you want to go into these games as favourites. It’s part of being here that you have to win games. You have to be able to handle that.
‘When we play, we want to win every week. With that, comes pressure and intensity and you have to make sure you do it.
‘There will be bumps on the road, but we expect to go into every game, home or away and win it, so it will be the same for this game.
‘I think these are the best games to be involved in, the bigger games, the build-up. Whether it’s the Old Firm, or the Edinburgh derby, these are the best games. You
don’t really need to motivate the players at all because they are ready for it.
‘I think that’s what you enjoy about it. The pressure of the buildup, the pressure of the game.
‘Generally in these games, there’s not a lot of football played and not a lot of quality within it.
‘There will be moments when it starts, but it’s that pressure and intensity you look forward to.’
After Alan Stubbs, Ross and Maloney, Johnson will be the fourth Hibs boss Neilson has faced across his two spells at Tynecastle.
He was reluctant to buy into how much that experience could play a part in tomorrow’s clash, but concedes that his personal record at Easter Road is something he would like to rectify.
Neilson has never won at Easter Road as a manager and, even as a player at Hearts, his record at the stadium wasn’t great.
He said: ‘It is about winning the game. It doesn’t matter who is in the other dugout. I don’t think I have won at Easter Road as a manager, so it would be nice to change that.
‘I want to win at every ground. Some venues are tougher than others, but we want to win. We obviously have fewer fans there, but we still have 3,500-4,000, which is brilliant. It’s one of the derbies where you get that intensity from both teams, so we are looking forward to it. We’ll have our hardcore (support) there and I’m sure they’ll be raucous as ever. ‘The games we did well in last season were at Tynecastle and Hampden, so we need to go to Easter Road and make sure we have good results there, too’
You want to build momentum and nothing is better than winning this one