Friendly disnae mean 'Mickey Mouse'

PAUL KIDDIE

TOMORROW’S Bank of Scotland Festival Cup clash may be regarded by most observers as a pointless and unnecessary exercise - but you won’t hear Hearts midfielder Michael Stewart complaining.

The meeting between the two Edinburgh clubs at Tynecastle - the Jambos are defending the trophy won last season at Easter Road in the inaugural staging of the contest - has been seriously devalued by the enforced absence of nearly 20 first-team stars due to a combination of injury and international commitments.

The hosts will be without Scotland trio Steven Pressley, Craig Gordon and Andy Webster, Republic of Ireland defender Alan Maybury, whose side kicks off its World Cup qualifying against Cyprus, and the crocked Kevin McKenna and Stephen Simmons. Ramon Pereira has also returned home to Spain for a few days.

The Hibees are in a similar boat with Derek Riordan, Scott Brown, Steven Whittaker and Garry O’Connor having been involved with Scotland’s Under-21s against Spain last night - O’Connor found the net in a 3-1 defeat - and Gary Caldwell with the senior squad in Valencia and Colin Murdock joining Maybury with the Republic.

With Stephen Glass, Gary Smith, Kevin Thomson and Alen Orman on the treatment table, both Craig Levein and Tony Mowbray are set to field what will basically amount to nothing more than second-string selections. That will be a major disappointment for supporters who are set to stay away in their droves. But it certainly hasn’t diminished the significance of the match in the eyes of Stewart, who will take another major step towards a first top-team start when he runs out at Tynecastle.

"Any footballer wants to do the best they possibly can in a match," he said. "There are a few players away on international duty but there are still a lot around so it’s not going to be a ’Mickey Mouse’ match. There will be a lot of pride at stake as well.

"It won’t be like a full-scale, out-and-out derby match but there’s going to be a lot of first-team guys involved from either side and these types of matches always get the fans going and evoke a lot of feeling."

The loan star has been battling to attain proper match fitness following his surprise loan move from Manchester United and he insists tomorrow’s clash is just the sort of game he is needing.

"I have played in a number of reserve and bounce games as well as making a few substitute appearances in the SPL and am feeling pretty much there now," he said.

"I feel as fit as I’m going to get and just need to start playing proper games now to get my brain a little sharper for the higher level.

"I feel a lot better than when I first arrived. I feel I can handle the pace in training and am a lot more comfortable from that perspective.

"To be honest, tomorrow is the ideal match for me to get another 90 minutes so hopefully I’ll do that.

"It’s a chance to take my fitness up another level and stake my claim (for a first-team start).

"I’m ready and waiting and hopefully after tomorrow I’ll maybe be in the frame for the Rangers game the following weekend."

Stewart made his first start for his boyhood heroes in the recent final of the East Of Scotland Shield, where he was surprised by the intensity of some of the challenges - Simmons had his foot broken in a fifth-minute challenge with Jay Shields. Such is life in any derby match, though, and he is expecting more of the same tomorrow, friendly encounter or not.

"Any game against Hibs is going to be played at a fair pace," he said. "There will be a lot of tackles flying in and maybe that’s exactly what I need right now to get as close to a first-team game as possible.

"You can play as many reserve matches as you want but you’re not going to get to the next stage without playing proper games.

"The training’s been good and I am looking forward to the game."

Tomorrow’s clash is also likely to see the Scotland internationalist go head to head with best mate Ian Murray for the first time, the Hibs skipper set to continue his comeback from long-term injury at Tynecastle.

And that’s a prospect Stewart is relishing.

"Ian played on Tuesday night for the Hibs reserves, came through unscathed and by all accounts feels quite good," he said.

"I think he had always pencilled in this match as his comeback so was quite happy to get a game in ahead of schedule.

"Now he’s looking forward to tomorrow as well to get another game under his belt.

"I hadn’t really envisaged playing against him in an Edinburgh derby and it will be interesting to see when it happens for real.

"He’s a Hibs fans, I’m a Hearts fan. We both grew up going to watch the teams so we know what it’s all about. Once we’re out on the park we’ll forget who’s our mate and just get on with playing football. This will be a dress-rehearsal, if you like, and hopefully there will be a few more occasions during the season."

Stewart added: "Ian might not be the most vocal on the park but I’m expecting some words in my ear during the match!

"He leads by example and that’s what Hibs are looking for."

Taken from the Scotsman