Hibernian captain Paul Hanlon admits his side must discover a cutting edge if they are to win at Tynecastle and guarantee their place in the top six of the cinch Premiership.
The Easter Road side have scored only six goals in their 12 league games since the winter break and have won only one of those matches. On the flip side, they have had six clean sheets in those 12 matches and have proven difficult to beat.
While the January departure of Martin Boyle and injuries to Christian Doidge and Kevin Nisbet have been damaging, Hanlon has challenged those charged with leading the Hibs attack to show their ruthless side when they get themselves into the final third at Tynecastle.
“It’s an old cliche that good teams are built on solid defence and we’ve had that in place for the last few months but we’re at the stage now where we need to win games,” said Hanlon. “To do that, we’re going to have to be more clinical.
“I think the way Tynecastle is, with the pitch quite narrow and short, the game can go end to end quite quickly so you need to do your job in both boxes. We’re going to have to defend as well as we have done over the last few months and carry a bit of a threat going forward.”
A point may be enough to keep Hibs in the top six after the split but there is a good chance they will require a victory, depending on results elsewhere. Hanlon insists it is imperative that his team cross the city fuelled by a winning mentality.
“It’s a massive game, no doubt about it,” he said.
“We need to be in the top six, that’s where we should be. We’d have liked to have been at a stage now where that was already secure but it wasn’t to be so now we have to go to Tynecastle and get a result, and that’s what we’re fully focused on.
“Whether we need to win or not, I’m not sure, but that’s what we’ll definitely be trying to do.”
While Hearts are 16 points clear of Hibs in the league, the two derbies this term have ended goalless. The Easter Road side have lost only two of their last 10 visits to Tynecastle, while they enjoyed two memorable wins there in 2019.
“Winning at Tynecastle is special,” said Hanlon.
“I’ve sampled it a few times. We’ve had some good results there over the past few years. It’s a special atmosphere. The fans that turn up for an away day at Tynecastle are incredible.
“The new lads will enjoy it. As one of the senior players, it’s my job to make them aware of what they’re going to face but also keeping them calm and composed at the same time. It’s going to be 100 mile an hour for the first 10 minutes or so and we need to be ready for it.”
