Hearts: Edinburgh derby is a must win, says Csaba Laszlo

CSABA LASZLO has urged Hearts to come out fighting against Hibernian tomorrow in an Edinburgh derby which he stressed must be won if his club's fortunes are to begin improving.

• A win in the Edinburgh derby could revive Hearts' season, says Csaba Laszlo

Second-placed Hibs travel across the city in a rich vein of form after a productive start to the campaign under John Hughes. Hearts are eighth, having toiled to rediscover the consistency produced during Laszlo's first season in charge.

The Hungarian, however, has laid his players a challenge, imploring them to confront their opponents head on and without intimidation.

"We must not hide from anyone. It is a derby game and everyone likes to win the derby game," said Laszlo.

"We must score one goal more. Hibs have done very well and have had better results than us but we are at Tynecastle and we must win the game. If we win the game and get three points then we can move forward.

"There is not more pressure on me, but they might come here with confidence because they have won two or three games in a row."

Laszlo added that he believed second place – or minimum third – was still attainable for Hearts if their form improves.

"Last season was very good for us, especially third place, and the wish is to do a little bit better this season. Maybe second or minimum of third. We won't know which position we will finish in until the end of the season.

"The solution is only to win games. If you win games, everything is easier. It is very simple. If you win games then no-one asks about anything else.

"We need somebody who can score goals, this is the truth. If you don't score goals then you don't win games. At the moment, we're World Cup winners in creating chances."

Hearts will again be without the influence of Marius Zaliukas, Larry Kingston and Suso tomorrow but Laszlo has faith in his younger players to handle the mammoth

occasion of an Edinburgh derby.

He also stated a conviction that the home supporters will be right behind their team from kick-off.

"Our season has been up and down and this is with young people," he said. "You can beat everybody but you can also lose against everybody, this is the situation.

"We have a lot of important players who are injured right now, experienced players. Larry Kingston is not back, I do not know when he will be back because of his injury. There is a problem with his thigh muscle and Zaliukas is out, as is Suso for

four weeks after surgery. All of these players were important for us.

"Look at how many young players we have. I don't think you will find another club in Scotland who has brought through so many players through from their

academy as we have.

"If the fans see the players trying to do everything for success then they won't boo, they will stay behind their team. I don't think that it is necessary to boo your own player if they make a mistake.

"If you do everything you can but still have a bad day. I think that the fans will appreciate this. We can give confidence back to them with success against Hibs."