Boss urges Hearts to be brave against their Capital rivals
Steven Naismith has told his Hearts stars that picking the right moments to take derby risks can unlock big rewards as they prepare to face Hibs, writes Ben Banks.
It could be the final Edinburgh derby of the season, and this clash could go a way to defining whether there is a fourth league encounter. The visitors are chasing down a top six spot while the hosts sit 11 points clear in third spot, despite a 5-0 loss to Rangers on Saturday.
Naismith doesn't expect Nick Montgomery's side to set up base in their own half in Gorgie, and that may provide chances for Hearts to strike telling blows. The head coach said: "A lot of the games recently have been against teams that have sat in. That will be different; Hibs will come to attack, and that helps with that.
"It’s making choices when you have the ball, and not being safe in possession. You have to have risk to get opportunities, and we have done it at right times in the last couple of months, but you do need to give the fans something to get behind and make the atmosphere good because it can be an intimidating one and we can use that to our advantage."
Naismith added: "I think the two derbies so far have been entertaining in different ways. The last one lacked a lot of quality but both teams probably had opportunities to have good attacks. The first one was very open. We probably shot ourselves in the foot with a small period of that. It's two teams that want to have possession, two teams that want to attack. I'd imagine it will be an entertaining game."