WE'VE NO HOPE OF TITLE BUT HEARTS HAVE RESOURCES TO TOPPLE OLD FIRM
By Gordon Waddell

JUBILANT Hibs boss Tony Mowbray last night savoured his first derby triumph at Easter Road - then insisted Hibs have NO chance of winning the championship.

Their 2-0 pounding of 10-man Hearts hoisted them to within four points of the top of the table, and SIX clear of Rangers behind them.

And since their watershed defeat to Hearts on August 7 at Tynecastle they've taken 27 points out of a possible 33.

But cagey Mogga was quick to claim his side won't be able to keep up that pace all the way to the flag - although he thinks Hearts CAN.

He insisted: "Last season we finished 31 points behind the Old Firm, and although our young squad is another year older we've not added to it. So that's too big a gap to bridge. Hearts can maybe bridge it because of the investment being made there.

"But we've only played 13 games and injuries and suspensions are sure to kick in at some point.

"We also have some tough games coming up, starting next week at Livingston. You always drop points you maybe don't expect to during the course of the season."

But dropping points is a habit Hibs have long forgotten since that disastrous day across the city in August.

The Jambos rubbed salt in the wounds, releasing an official club DVD called Demolition Derby.

Mowbray revealed though that far from using that game to fire up his troops yesterday he hadn't even mentioned it in the dressing room He said: "Derbies are all about the fans and I'm delighted we sent them home happy. They'll have endured a lot of flak since the last one in August so this is for them.

"But I didn't even mention the last defeat in the build-up to this, I didn't need to. We've come on leaps and bounds since and playing at Tynecastle is always difficult anyway.

"This time though we took care of their physical threat early on and the sending off was definitely one of the turning points."

Bizarrely, Mowbray revealed after the game he didn't even know WHICH Hearts player had seen red.

Asked if he was surprised a player of Edgaras Jankauskas' experience had become caught up he raised his eyebrows and asked: "Who went off? I didn't even notice.

"Jankauskas? Well, I suppose it's his first Edinburgh derby and derbies can do that to you.

"But I felt we were in the ascendancy at the time anyway although obviously you can never say for sure the goal would have come.

"The other turning point though was the introduction of Ivan Sproule.

"Playing against 10 men can be really difficult and it's important to get in behind them.

"You have to show a bit of patience as well - we're a young team in experience in these situations and the danger is you can go too direct sometimes and be picked off.

"But Sproule did exactly what we hoped he would for the first goal. I was also pleased we didn't get caught up in things.

"We talked a lot about discipline because we have one or two who can rise to the bait. But we stood up well."

However, Mowbray was also keen to heap praise on his back line for keeping their shape as well.

Faced with the physical threat of former Porto star Jankauskas and giant Czech Michal Pospisil, Chris Hogg and Dutchman Humphrey Rudge coped superbly and never gave the Jambos a look at goal.

Hogg was unfortunate to limp out five minutes into the second half with a dead leg.

But Mowbray insisted: "We're hoping he'll be fixed up in time for next week.

"It was a shame for him because he had done well but we had great experience to bring in in the shape of Gary Smith.

"And Humphrey, for his first derby, was outstanding.

"He's a no-nonsense defender, the kind who puts his head into places without fear - he's a great example."

Taken from the Sunday Mail