Mixu Paatelainen, the Hibernian manager, has expressed disappointment at the club's failed appeal against Chris Hogg's red card, but still expects his makeshift side to run Hearts close tonight.

Paatelainen believed he had a "strong case" in seeking to overturn Hogg's late dismissal in Saturday's 2-1 Clydesdale Bank Premier League defeat to Dundee United, but the appeal was dismissed yesterday, ruling the defender out of the derby at Tynecastle, along with the already suspended trio of Rob Jones, Sol Bamba and Colin Nish.

Hogg, 24, was sent off four minutes from time by Stevie O'Reilly for a late tackle on United's Craig Conway. The referee stuck by his decision following a review.
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As well as the disciplinary problems, Paatelainen also has injuries to contend with and refused to name who has been ruled out or who is fit for the Gorgie meeting. But it is thought Denes Rosa, Fabian Yantorno and Kevin McCann will play no part, with goalkeeper Grzegorz Szamotulski also in the doubtful category.

The Finn, however, remains upbeat. "I'm disappointed with the appeal, but that's the way it goes," he said. "The referee must have looked again at the incident and felt again it was worth a red card.

"We don't cry about it, that's the decision. We appealed and now we go forward without Chris. I thought we had a strong case, but unfortunately it didn't go our way.

"I had a plan to go there with him, but he'll miss out like many others. The injury situation has showed no signs of easing, but a couple of players trained yesterday. I won't go into names at all, and hopefully there is no reaction."

Hearts are seeking to secure third place in the SPL, but are only two points ahead of nearest rivals Dundee United.

It is a vital game for Csaba Laszlo's side, less so for Hibs given their unlikely chance of reaching the Europa League, but it is a derby match none the less. Paatelainen added: "I believe we have a team full of players who will compete against Hearts. We will have a fighting spirit and energy.

"We might not have the regular faces but if they give their all, and Lady Luck is on our side, we might get a very, very positive result."

Laszlo, meanwhile, has the luxury of being able to call on a near-full strength team for the match. However, the Hungarian is not taking any notice of his counterpart's problems.

He said: "Every team has problems. Against Rangers we had Lee Wallace and Ruben Palazuelos out, we played a good game but didn't have the best result.

"It's not a usual game, it's a derby and you have two aspects. We have the prestige and route to Europe. For Hibs, I think it's more prestige.

"After they lost the game to Dundee United, I think they would like to win. Their chance is not so big to qualify for Europe but the prestige is high to beat your city rivals.

"We lost the last game at Easter Road 1-0. They will begin with 11 players on the field and we will try to play the football we played against Rangers but create more chances."

There is little to choose between the Edinburgh adversaries this season, with a win apiece and two draws already having been fought out in all competitions.

Hearts' push for third place has been based on having a physical spine to their team but Laszlo has rejected any notion Hibs are technically superior.

He added: "I don't agree with this, definitely not. If you compare the two teams and you compare the games we've play, I don't think they got one over on us at any point, physically, technically or tactically.

"Are Hibs a bad team? This season, I don't think they have been better than my team."

Taken from the Herald