Murphy: Time for payback against Hearts

DAVID MURPHY reckons Hibs "owe Hearts one" this weekend after three heavy defeats by their fiercest rivals this season.

The Easter Road side have shipped four goals against the Jambos on no less than three occasions this term, losing three of the four previous meetings and winning just one.

Without doubt, the toughest to take for anyone of a green-and-white persuasion was the 4-0 Hampden hammering in the semi-finals of the Tennent's Scottish Cup earlier this month which ensured bragging rights would remain in Gorgie for the foreseeable future.

That loss came after a similar scoreline at Tynecastle on the second day of the season and a 4-1 rout at the end of January, with Hibs' only success coming last October when they triumphed 2-0 at Easter Road. Although the latest clash between the teams may not have caught the imagination of the supporters in quite the same way as the Scottish Cup showdown, there is still plenty at stake for either side.

Hibs still hold out hope that they can qualify for the UEFA Cup while Hearts are locked in a battle with Rangers for a place in the lucrative Champions League.

And Murphy admitted that Saturday would be the perfect time for his side to exact a measure of revenge on their rivals.

"We've taken three real hidings from them, two at their ground and one at Hampden, so we need to make up for that," said the former Middlesbrough defender.

"The defeat in the Scottish Cup really hurt all the players because there was a massive prize at stake and we let ourselves and the fans down a wee bit.

"Personally, I don't like to lose any game of football but particularly against your big rivals in a city the size of Edinburgh. It was tough to take but maybe that will spur us on.

"We definitely owe them one and with a European place still up for grabs it would be a good time to take all three points against them."

Hibs' cause isn't helped by the fact that their young squad has been stretched to the limit in recent weeks with injuries hitting hard. The likes of Guillaume Beuzelin, Scott Brown, Michael Stewart, Chris Killen and Gary Smith all look set to miss this weekend's visit from Hearts, meaning that boss Tony Mowbray, pictured below, will again be forced to field a very young side.

Murphy, however, was refusing to make excuses.

"We've got a lot of injuries at the moment but we will just have to put out the best team that we can and give it our best shot," said the Easter Road fans' favourite.

"The desire and the commitment are definitely there to win this game and now we just have to try and make sure that the quality is there on the day as well.

"We've beaten them in the only game at Easter Road so far this season so we can take positives from that and try to repeat it.

"We certainly don't want to get beaten on our own turf against our rivals, particularly with it being the last time we will play them this season as you then have a long time before you can make up for it."

Murphy has been arguably Hibs' best player so far this term with his unflappable displays in defence helping the side to an encouraging start to the season that had some pundits touting them as potential title challengers.

That, however, was never likely to be a realistic possibility for Hibs in the long run, with Mowbray operating on a fraction of the budget enjoyed by the Old Firm, and this season, Hearts.

Indeed, qualifying for the UEFA Cup for the second successive season would be looked upon as a remarkable achievement for the Hibees. This season's foray into European competition may have been briefer than the club would have liked - knocked out in the first round proper by Dnipr Dnipropetrovsk after a 5-1 second leg-hammering in Ukraine - but Murphy revealed that it has whetted the players' appetite and given them plenty of motivation for the remaining four games. "Every player wants to play in Europe and we're no different," he said.

"All the boys are desperate to get back there and I think getting there every season should be the aim we set ourselves.

"We got a taste of it this year although we obviously got knocked out in the first games so we want to make up for that. Getting there again is a massive incentive and while we know it's not in our own hands it won't stop us trying.

"Playing in Europe is something a bit different to look forward to and gives the players a bit of a break from domestic action all the time. If we can get three points on Saturday it would go a massive way to getting us that fourth place. We're already a couple of points clear of Kilmarnock while Aberdeen are a bit further behind them so a win would give everyone a massive lift.

"We also need Rangers to catch Hearts, of course, which we can't influence too much so we just need to make sure we play our part by keeping Kilmarnock and Aberdeen at distance.

"We picked up a point on Sunday which before the game we would probably have taken if we're being honest.

"This weekend, though, we're at home and I think it's game that we need to look and try and win.

"We can help ourselves on two fronts by getting all three points which would mean Killie and Aberdeen would also need to win to keep the pressure on us while it would give Rangers the chance to cut the gap on Hearts.

"After that we just have to keep working hard and make sure we pick up more points that both Aberdeen and Kilmarnock.

"If we can do that, fourth will be ours and then we'll see if that's good enough. It's not ideal that we can't control what happens but that's the position we find ourselves in. All we can do is go out and try to beat Hearts on Saturday."

Taken from the Scotsman