ANY talk of Heart of Midlothian as the roundheads of football in Edinburgh while Hibernian are the cavaliers of the capital has been dismissed by Csaba Laszlo, who rejects the suggestion that the Easter Road club may have been superior to their local rivals in any aspect of the game this season.
ANY talk of Heart of Midlothian as the roundheads of football in Edinburgh while Hibernian are the cavaliers of the capital has been dismissed by Csaba Laszlo, who rejects the suggestion that the Easter Road club may have been superior to their loc
al rivals in any aspect of the game this season.
It is often argued the strength of this Hearts' side lies in their power play thanks to the team work of a group of tall, physically imposing players. Hibs, on the other hand, enjoy a reputation for being more technically gifted, though far less consistent, with a number of skilful forwards such as Derek Riordan and Steven Fletcher at the disposal of manager Mixu Paatelainen.
As Hearts, third in the SPL, prepare for the visit to Tynecastle this evening of sixth-placed Hibs in what will be the most significant derby of the campaign, Laszlo was happy to argue the Premier League table doesn't lie. Although some of Hearts' performances in the first-half of the season were about grinding out results, the manager believes his side have grown in confidence and become more expressive over the course of the campaign.
Asked for his opinion on the contention that Hearts break down the door while Hibs pick the lock, Laszlo replied: "This is a good opinion, but I don't agree with this, definitely not. It's my opinion if you compare the two teams, and you also compare the games between us, I don't think they go over us in any point which is important: physically, technically or tactically. Maybe it was true last season, but not this season. What does physical mean? If you don't run then you cannot win the game. You must run and you must work.
"At Easter Road for the last derby, if Christian Nade has the luck to score goals, then we don't lose. Okay, everyone has an opinion. I respect the manager of Hibs. If you don't respect your opponent then you don't win the game. But this season we've shown the better football.
"If we do this on Thursday, then we can win. For me it's not very important always to be compared with Hibs – we must look to be better in the table, to be more pretty and more successful. It's a very good question. You know why? Because I've always had this provocation in my career before derbies. Your team is okay, but this side is better. At the end of the season we'll see which one is better.
"This is not to say Hibs are a bad team. I did not say that. But they are not better than my team. They have some good players who have achieved good results. Hibs are Hibs and Hearts are Hearts."
Although the shrewd and skilful contributions of Andrew Driver and Bruno Aguiar back-up Laszlo's argument, it's clear Hearts carry a clear advantage tonight in terms of height and power over a Hibs' side missing some of their tallest and strongest players.
While the Hearts manager is aware of Hibs' problems in terms of injuries and suspensions, he doesn't think the team Paatelainen picks will be any less dangerous. "Every team has problems," he said. "I don't think at the moment we only look at which players will or won't play (for Hibs]. Against Rangers we were without Lee Wallace and Ruben Palazuelos, but I think we still played a good game without getting the best result.
"This is not a usual game, it's a derby and for me there are two aspects to the match. For us, there's prestige and a way to qualify for the Europa league. For Hibs, it's more about the prestige. We have two aspects and they only have one. But after losing against Dundee United, I'm sure Hibs will want to win. To beat your (local] team in the same town is always important."
If Hearts take full points from Hibs and Dundee United defeat Aberdeen tonight, the Tynecastle side know they will be odds on favourites to play in Europe next season. "I try to take pressure off the players," Laszlo reasoned. "But they are professionals and when they go on the field I don't think they have in their brains a sense of winning the game for prestige or because a place in Europe is at stake. You just like to win. The victory is what matters then afterwards you can (take stock] of what it means. We've had pressure in every game this season."
Laszlo expects to recall Lee Wallace at left-back, although Ruben Palazuelos may miss out in midfield again because of a knee injury. "We won't decide until nearer the time and have options with Eggert Jonsson and Laryea Kingston," he added. "There's also competition for the goalkeeping position with Janos Balogh fighting to come back in."
As for next season's plans, the manager remains hopeful of retaining the services of captain Robbie Neilson. "At the moment, he will stay. This is not a big question for me. We would like to attract better players for next season, but there is always the question of money. We have names, this is not a big secret. We need a central defender, right midfielder, a striker and maybe for central midfield, because I don't know what will happen with Bruno Aguiar. We don't have a concrete deal. If we can keep him, then we won't need anyone else in the middle."
• Hearts youngster Branimir Kostadinov has quit the club after failing to make the breakthrough at first-team level.
The Bulgarian striker's arrival at Tynecastle two years ago attracted a lot of attention but
the 20-year-old, who was once linked with Manchester City, has severed all ties with Hearts.
The club's policy of signing talented youngsters from abroad has so far failed to bear fruit.
Romanian teenager Dumitru Copil, who was initially dubbed the next Gheorghe Hagi, and Slovenian defender Matej Rapnik have also left Hearts in the past season.
