Derby revenge is a dish best served Cald

GARY CALDWELL today admitted he's still feeling the pain of Hibs' Hampden nightmare, making victory over Hearts in what will be his last Edinburgh derby a matter of personal revenge.

Like everyone at Easter Road, Caldwell headed for the national stadium barely three weeks ago with high hopes as he and his team-mates prepared to face their arch-rivals in the first Scottish Cup semi-final between the Capital outfits in more than a century.

The events of that day don't need repeating as far as Tony Mowbray's side are concerned, but that doesn't mean they've been forgotten.

Today, skipper Caldwell said: "I don't think you can ever get that semi-final back. I said at the time it was a one-off and we'll probably never get that sort of chance again. Obviously we wanted to win the game because it was a great chance to go on and lift the trophy itself. You could make excuses with the number of injuries we had but we don't want to make excuses.

"We were poor on the day, the team that went out was poor and we took a bit of a battering which was disappointing for all the fans who had gone through to Hampden.

"This derby has come around quite quickly, people are still hurting and it's a chance for us to get some sort of revenge so we are all looking forward to it."

As Caldwell said, however, a Hibs triumph in Saturday's fifth Edinburgh derby of the season will never expunge memories of April 2 in Glasgow but it could go a long way to helping Mowbray's side achieve their goal of European football next season.

For that to happen, though, Hibs must finish fourth in the SPL table and hope Hearts, red-hot favourites to defeat Second Division champions Gretna in the Tennent's Scottish Cup final next month, surrender second place to Rangers although the Jambos currently enjoy a five-point advantage with just four matches remaining. With the rest of the country - outwith Glasgow at least - desperate to see another club break the Old Firm duopoly on the top two places, and the Champions League prize which they carry, Caldwell admitted that Hibs were in the minority in hoping for such a scenario. But the 24-year-old Scotland star said: "I think Hearts have done well, they've had a superb season and credit to them.

"They've spent money and spent it wisely and our fans will be a bit sick if it is them who split the Old Firm and get Champions League football. In football, though, you have to be selfish and we want to stop Hearts getting second place to help our own chances of playing in the UEFA Cup next season. To do that we have to beat them on Saturday and hope other results go our way."

That would mean Rangers beating Celtic - whom Caldwell will join in the summer - the following day but, with Gordon Strachan's side having already been presented with the SPL trophy, his new boss would probably forgive him wishing for such an outcome, just this once, in the circumstances.

And, ideally, Caldwell's dream weekend would be completed by Aberdeen and Kilmarnock, who are vying for fourth place with the Easter Road outfit, drawing when they meet at Pittodrie. He said: "This is probably our last chance to put a bit of doubt in the minds of the Hearts players and a win would also keep our hope of finishing fourth going."

Fourth place may appear disappointing to many but Caldwell insisted that with the resources available to boss Mowbray it would be something of an achievement, particularly given the continuous run of injuries Hibs' small squad has suffered throughout the season.

He said: "Other clubs have had more money to spend and good luck to them. We can only do the best we can with the players we have and the money the club can spend.

"If we finish fourth and got into Europe again it would be a great season. And, even if we don't, I think the boys have done well.

"The injuries this season have been the worst I can remember, right from the second game when I punctured a lung and broke ribs against Hearts at Tynecastle which kept me out for four weeks. Gary Smith, Michael Stewart, Scott Brown, Guillaume Beuzelin, Stephen Glass - you could go right through the squad - have been out. Then we lost Garry O'Connor to Lokomotiv Moscow and Chris Killen, who came in to replace him, has also been out injured. You don't like to make excuses but we have had a lot of injuries and that has affected us badly and made it difficult for us. So to finish high up the league in such circumstances would be an achievement."

It's also at this stage of the season when managers, players and fans alike turn their minds to the "what ifs and might-have-beens" with those at Easter Road no doubt pondering over precious points dropped.

While Caldwell admitted games such as losing to Falkirk after being 2-0 up and conceding last-minute goals to Kilmarnock and Motherwell quickly came to mind, he added: "Every team will be doing the same thing.

"Even Celtic will probably say they should have had more points and won the league earlier.

"Everyone does it but football comes down to key moments, split-seconds which make a massive difference over the course of the season."

Although he only has four more matches as Hibs skipper before he departs, Caldwell insisted he was looking no further ahead than Saturday, hoping his last Edinburgh derby will prove as enjoyable as the 2-0 victory earlier this season which ended Hearts' unbeaten start to the campaign, or the 2-1 win at Tynecastle last season.

He said: "Edinburgh derbies are such big games. I've enjoyed some great times and suffered some disappointments but hopefully Saturday will see me end my last one on a high. If we can do that and Hearts ended the season in third place then I am sure Hibs fans would get some sort of satisfaction from it."

Taken from the Scotsman