Stewart insists players appreciate importance

Having played for both sides, Michael Stewart would have every reason to claim a greater insight into what tomorrow's Edinburgh derby with means to the city.

However, the Hearts midfielder believes the magnitude of the encounter will not be lost on Tynecastle's foreign legion just because they do not have the benefit of local knowledge.

Stewart has crossed the divide twice, swapping a loan deal with Hearts for a stint at Easter Road under Tony Mowbray, before returning to Gorgie after a personality clash with John Collins.
advertisement

Tomorrow, he is sure to be put under intense pressure from the home support but he is adamant that winning will matter as much to his team-mates as to him.

"Of course it means a lot to the players still," he said. "In the build-up, you are quite aware of what it means to people outside the club and inside. That is what filters through to the players. It doesn't matter where a player is from. When I was down in England I wasn't from there but I understood what a derby was all about. If you were to go abroad you would still understand what it means because the people would be telling you.

"You are not stupid and you can see what it means to the people. There is a big emphasis put on that, but this is a game that needs to be won."

Hearts go into the match on the back of a sequence of only one win in their last four matches, compared to Hibs' three wins from their last four. However, Stewart sees little between the teams, who are separated by only one point in the table.

"If you take the game on its own, the two of us are fairly similarly poised in the league at the moment," he said. "It is a big game to get three points and try and get ahead of Hibs and, similarly, they'll be looking to push further ahead."

Csaba Laszlo, the Hearts head coach, acknowledges the significance of the rivalry, but he has played down the importance of a victory.

"I know what it means," he stressed. "Believe me, the passion and the heart is the big question. But if you beat Hibs you don't get nine points from the game, only three."

Taken from the Herald