Hibs battle - 'SPL survival is crucial for the whole city'

There's a massive game in Leith tonight, but it isn't a crunch cup tie or a battle against the Old Firm or Hearts.

Hibs host St Mirren in a match which, even at the start of February, already feels like a must-win to keep the threat of relegation at bay.

And while no-one among the Easter Road hierarchy is prepared to use the R-word yet, that has serious consequences for the entire city.

For it will be more than just a blow to the pride of a club with a fantastic history if SPL survival is not secured. Most obviously, income would fall dramatically, by as much as 2 million. The loss of TV revenue alone could be catastrophic.

Any half-glass-full supporters who think it might be a nice change to visit towns like Dumfries or Greenock, or to face Livingston in an alternative "derby", are delusional.

Not securing a place in the SPL would be a disaster - and not just for Colin Calderwood. Pubs and other businesses across the Capital, especially in Leith, would suffer from smaller gates and fewer away fans.

Hearts fans who face a top-of-the-table clash at Ibrox tonight shouldn't be smug either. The loss of the proper derby would hit Tynecastle's income too, while there would be equal pain if the gala of these three or four big games was taken away.

It is precisely because Edinburgh benefits from having two great teams in the top division that the News has always supported Hearts and Hibs in equal measure.

To us, a repeat of 1998 is unthinkable . . . but the threat has to be acknowledged, if only so the stark consequences are clear.

And with that in mind we urge everyone in the city to join us in a cry of "Come on Hibs (and Hearts)!"

Weighty idea

In the words of the old Zanussi advert, it is the appliance of science.

The technology to create a photo booth-style cubicle where you can get weighed and have the results sent straight to your GP has been around for years.

But NHS Lothian will be the first health board in the UK to create a "doc in the box" that could be set up in supermarkets or post offices.

Anything that frees up the time of hard-pressed doctors and nurses - and saves patients travelling any further than they need to - has got to be a good thing.

But the success or otherwise of this interesting plan is likely to hang on such mundane matters as where the booths are sited.

How many people will be put off signing up by the potential embarrassment of being seen walking into one by friends or neighbours queuing to buy their stamps?