Hearts striker Wighton looks forward to another derby

Ex-Dundee striker insists famous strike will steel him for meeting with Hibees

Craig Wighton is already assured cult hero status in the blue half of Dundee as the man who relegated United.

However, the Hearts striker reckons derby day in the City of Discovery will pale in comparison to the Edinburgh version.

Wighton, just 18 at the time, scored the decisive goal as the Dark Blues claimed a historic 2-1 triumph at a raucous Dens Park in May 2016, condemning their fierce foes to life in the Championship.

As a boyhood Dundee fan, that strike remains the highlight of his career to date and he reckons it will steel him for an even bigger occasion at Tynecastle this evening when Hibs cross the capital.

“That Dundee derby goal was probably the most memorable moment of my career so far,” he recalled.

“A few of my friends are Dundee United fans, so it was a bit weird like that.

“It’s never nice to see anyone go down, with folk losing their jobs and stuff, but it was a big moment for me and my family.

“There was a lot riding on that game, with United’s situation, and it was a big-pressure game, but I feel like I am used to these games now and I’m raring to be involved in another.

“It still gets mentioned to me a lot, which is a nice thing and I hope that I can do the same for Hearts on Wednesday.

“Derbies are the games that will give you the headlines if you can get a goal and we are all desperate to do that and make the supporters happy again after the weekend.

“Those games (Dundee derbies) are huge occasions but the Edinburgh derby is so much bigger. It’s a bigger city, with a lot more fans and we are just raring to go.”

Hearts and Scotland meanwhile have suffered a major blow after captain Steven Naismith was told he needed knee surgery.

The 32-year-old is likely to be out for about six to eight weeks after a scan showed a cartilage tear after he broke down early in Hearts’ Betfred Cup defeat by Celtic.

Naismith will miss games against Hibernian and Celtic this week alone for the Ladbrokes Premiership leaders and has been ruled out of Scotland’s Nations League deciders against Albania and Israel.

The on-loan Norwich player has scored 11 goals for Hearts this season and two for his country and his absence adds to issues for both club boss Craig Levein and international manager Alex McLeish.

Hibs have major doubts tonight over Paul Hanlon (thigh), David Gray (ankle) and Thomas Agyepong (hamstring) ahead of the derby.

Midfielder Emerson Hyndman is also a fitness concern. Striker Jamie Maclaren is in training after making a late comeback from a back problem against Celtic.