Hibs: 'Light up' Easter Road, says Calderwood

Published on Friday 1 April 2011 13:14

COLIN CALDERWOOD today urged his players to "light up" Easter Road by claiming the first goal tomorrow as Hibs seek to break Hearts strangehold on the Edinburgh derby.

Calderwood goes into his third match against Jim Jefferie's side still seeking his first Capital triumph but also knowing Hearts have won the last four and remain beaten in six.

But while desperate to smash that record, Calderwood believes his team have improved in each of the last two clashes with their arch-rivals and now going into tomorrow's lunchtime start on the back of a six-match unbeaten run.

He said: "The first goal is the important one and it would light up our stadium if we were to get it and with us being the ones that have not beaten them for so long it would be an unexpected victory.

"We hope that things might edge our way in terms of the first goal but even if they score it we want to show we are a different proposition than in November."

Having referred to that 2-0 loss in what was only his third match as Hibs boss, the previous two against Aberdeen and Dundee United having also ended in defeat, Calderwood insisted he felt now, as he did then, that Hibs "have a chance" of winning the game.

He said: "From the moment they scored the first goal, which put Hearts on the ascendancy, we did not really look like we would get back in to it which was disappointing and frustrating.

"We certainly competed in the Tynecastle game but we did not have a real threat, there was only the one moment when we had a real opportunity, but we had improved from our display in that first derby."

Equally, Calderwood was adamant Hearts recent dominance will act more as a motivation than a hindrance for his side, the Hibs manager insisting that in his latest signing Ricardo Vaz Te he has another match-winner as he has in top scorer Derek Riordan.

The former Bolton Wanderers star has been fighting for full fitness since his move to Edinburgh but although Calderwood doesn't believe he can last the full 90 minutes he revealed the Portuguese forward was a "real, real possibility" to play some part tomorrow.

He said: "He's getting closer, he's had three good weeks and he's put in extra work himself. You can see him gaining a bit more strength and lasting longer in the game."

Hibs today reminded their fans tickets can be bought right up to kick-off. Hearts having sold their allocation of 3800.