Williamson has a thirst for heady derby brews

MOIRA GORDON

WHEN the final whistle blew at Easter Road on August 17, the first thing the defeated Hearts manager Craig Levein said to his jubilant counterpart, Bobby Williamson, was ‘well done, but when do we play each other again?’

"That’s my sentiments entirely," said the Easter Road manager, who celebrated his first derby win in charge that afternoon. "It’s so important to get the result over your local rivals and we didn’t manage to do that for a while but now that we have we want to taste that again," he said. "I can’t wait for these games to come round. That’s why we’re involved in football. We all want to be involved in the biggest occasions and they don’t come much bigger than this."

The managers are not the only ones desperate to be involved. With summer signings finding fitness and form, there are a few faces in the Hibs dressing room seeking their first involvement against Hearts today, giving Williamson the relative luxury of competition for places.

Leaving team selection late to allow the likes of Roland Edge to prove he is sufficiently recovered from his knee injury to feature alongside fellow debutant Colin Murdock in defence, he is hoping the side will have a settled look about it.

The Northern Ireland international hopes so too, because it would see him on the pitch rather than in the stands for the first time in what most Edinburgh football fans consider the primary encounter on the fixture list.

"I did get the opportunity to watch the festival game and the league game and they were both very competitive games so I’m looking forward to it but it is just another game and I’m just desperate for us to pick up three points because Hearts are getting away from us a wee bit so it’s important to try to get the win away from home."

After a shaky start, the defence, with Murdock and Edge in it, is now playing a key role in the club’s fortunes. "Since the day we came into the job we knew we would have to release players and bring through players and bring in some new players and maybe it has taken us time to gel. I don’t think any manager is ever totally happy because we’re all striving for perfection. We know we’ll never get it but we’ll still strive for it."

Perfection comes at a price Williamson can’t afford, which is why he has had to meld a team of youngsters and honest experience and endeavour. It hasn’t always been the right concoction he’s come up with but with points coming on a more regular basis and confidence rising, he is moving in the right direction.

"The young players seem to be getting a lot of the plaudits but it’s a team game and without the experienced players around about them, passing on their guidance and knowledge, these players wouldn’t shine. It’s about getting the blend right and I think we’re getting there."

A victory over Hearts at Tynecastle for the first time since December 1999 would help underline that. But Williamson is unperturbed by past results, and prefers to look to the future than dwell in the past.

"I’ve been in this game long enough to know you’ll win some and you’ll lose some. Sometimes runs go on a wee bit longer than you would like and people suggest jinxes and hoodoos and all that nonsense but I don’t believe in it, I believe in players going out and giving their best and sometimes the breaks go for you and sometimes they don’t. In the last game, apart from the sending-off, the breaks went for us but we can’t keep looking back on that and rest on that, we’ve got to go out and do it all again on Sunday."

Come the final whistle, one of the managers will already be desperate for the next match on February 14 to come around.

Taken from the Scotsman