Nothing but a derby-day win will do for Hibees
Jason Naismith argues the Boxing Day derby against Hearts is the right match for Hibs at the right time.
Beaten 2- 0 by league leaders Celtic on their trip to Celtic Park last week, the Edinburgh side were blown away by second- placed Rangers at Easter Road on Friday night.
The final score was 3-0 – it could have easily been more.
Yet as much as the exposure to the Premiership’s best has been a challenge for the defender and his team- mates, Naismith reasons supporters should not concern themselves about it being a worrying form guide for Thursday’s trip to Tynecastle.
“Listen, the fans will not be happy about tonight, and rightly so,” said Naismith.
“The way we played, especially in the first half, wasn’t good enough.
“We didn’t help ourselves, and when you don’t help yourselves and Rangers have got their tails up, then it’s always going to be a difficult night.
“I think the two Glasgow clubs are levels ahead of everyone else in this league, if I’m being honest.
“Fair play to them, that’s the standards they set probably every day and even in Europe.
“Rangers are out- playing teams like Porto, home and away, and that shows the calibre of team we’ve come up against.
“But as much as it was bitterly disappointing, it is done, and we move on to Hearts, which is a massive game for us.
“We need to right a few wrongs from the derby earlier in the season, when we were on top of them at Easter Road, only to end up on the losing side.
“Because of that, I think you could say that it is the perfect game to go into now because we need to go Tynecastle and win. It’s as simple as that.”
Hibs will be without Ryan Porteous, who is banned because of his red card against Rangers. But Naismith is confident they can shrug off his absence to get the victory they need.
He said: “We have quality with Adam Jackson and Darren Mcgregor, so we have people who can step in and it won’t be a problem.”