Capital expenditure no substitute for pride

Stuart Lovell believes Tony Mowbray’s side will be too rich in passion for their derby rivals

THE feel-good factor that surrounded both Hibs and Hearts throughout pre-season is set to continue for a good deal longer than today’s derby at Tynecastle.

However, there is a growing sense this early-season clash between the two Edinburgh clubs could be a strong indicator as to who is most likely to throw down a challenge to the Old Firm.

Less than two months ago Hearts looked to be in turmoil. They were still without a manager at the helm and looked likely to lose their two most influential players from last season – Lee Miller and Paul Hartley.

Subsequent events have seen Miller leave for Dundee United, but I would imagine if you gave him the choice again now he would crawl over broken glass to resume his career at Tynecastle. Hartley was never given an opportunity to leave Hearts for Celtic, nevertheless if they reward him with a contract which compares favourably with what some of the new signings are rumoured to be earning, he may be happy to stay at Tynecastle for some time to come. At this moment in time, ridiculous as it seems, Hartley could earn more money at Hearts than Celtic.

All this is in stark contrast to Hibs who have, by their own admission, been relatively quiet in the transfer market.

Tony Mowbray has insisted he is not envious of Hearts’ newfound riches and while this may be true, his frustration at not being able to compete on a level playing field must be hard to contain.

Aside from bringing in a new goalkeeper and a centre midfielder, Mowbray will continue his assault on the SPL with largely the same squad as last season and after their recent success you could argue that is no bad thing.

Twelve months ago Hibs were in dire need of some stability and strong leadership. They got this and so much more with Mowbray in charge. Whilst the Hibs board deserved plenty of criticism for their shoddy treatment of the two previous managers, Bobby Williamson and Franck Sauzee, they are entitled to some amount of praise for choosing the unlikely combination of Mowbray and assistant, Mark Venus.

There is always an element of guesswork when employing someone who’s never managed a team before, but this particular gamble seems to have paid off for Hibs.

It wasn’t just the Easter Road faithful who bought in to the Mowbray revolution. In fact, his impact on the SPL impressed both his fellow managers and journalists alike. As well as receiving fulsome praise from his contemporaries, Mowbray was awarded the much coveted Manager of the Year by the Scottish football writers. It was a surprising yet pleasant change as it is usually a straight choice between those at the helm of Celtic or Rangers.

It could be argued that the only thing Mowbray failed to conquer last season was Hearts. His derby record of one win, two draws and one defeat is certainly nothing to be ashamed of, but Hibs never seemed at their fluent best when playing their Edinburgh rivals.

It was interesting to hear Craig Levein’s assertion that the way to succeed against Hibs was by pressing them high up the park and forcing them into mistakes in their own half of the pitch. Certainly this tactic seemed to knock Hibs out of their stride and for the most part, Levein and his men held the upper hand last season.

Now though, Hibs’ young squad are a year older, a year wiser and perhaps most importantly a good bit stronger in body and mind. The bullying tactics that Hearts used to good effect last season are unlikely to work this time around and you get the feeling Hibs are ready for a role reversal.

If first impressions are anything to go by Hearts’ new manager, George Burley, appears to have signed some very talented players, but is it any coincidence they are all foreign? In the long run, their nationality will have little effect on whether they are a success or a failure in the SPL, but for this weekend only it could make all the difference in the world.

The vast majority of Hibs’ side is now Scottish and when it comes to understanding the importance of an Edinburgh derby, the home bred players have a notable advantage.

While stories abound of the Hearts squad being measured up for Hugo Boss club suits and the new signings picking up telephone numbers for a weekly wage you can be sure Mowbray will be using all this in his pre-match diatribe.

I sense a togetherness in the Hibs squad that has not existed since Alex McLeish was in charge at Easter Road four years ago. The incident involving young attacker Steven Fletcher being struck on the nose by a bottle during a disturbance in an Edinburgh pub last weekend will only serve to galvanise the players ahead of the derby match.

Apparently the squad as a whole were unhappy with some of the negative coverage of this incident in certain sections of the media and this led to the players refusing to speak to journalists. Regardless of whether or not people agree with this course of action, there can be no doubting the players’ vow of silence is a statement of intent and an indication the dressing room is very much together.

Perhaps the most impressive facet of Mowbray’s new-look Hibs is how they have little or no respect for reputations. On several occasions last season they offered a tangible threat to both Celtic and Rangers – at Easter Road and in Glasgow – so playing against the likes of Hearts’ former Champions League winner, Edgaras Jankauskas, will hold no fears for them.

Plenty of neutral observers were waxing lyrical about Hearts’ forward line against Kilmarnock last week, but it’s worth remembering, that John Hartson and Nacho Novo aside, the top two scorers in the SPL last season were Hibs’ very own Derek Riordan and Garry O’Connor.

If those two bring their shooting boots today, we could be in for a treat.

07 August 2005

Taken from the Sunday Herald