Hibs only thinking about winning at Tynecastle, says Paul Hanlon

The Easter Road captain would dearly love for his side to give their city rivals the runaround in Gorgie in the final fixture before the split, with Hibs needing a win to guarantee a top-six berth.

As a boyhood Hibee, winning at Tynecastle is right up there for Hanlon.

“If you win there it is definitely one of the most special grounds – for a Hibs player, anyway,” he grins.

“The away crowd is always right behind us and make a lot of noise and there is no better feeling than sending them home happy.”

To do that, Hanlon and Hibs will have to be at their best; strong defensively, as they have been, and a bit more clinical in front of goal.

"All derbies feel big but it has added that wee bit extra for us especially. We need to be in the top six, we should be in the top six, and probably should have made it secure by now. We’re at a stage now where we need to go there and get a win and that’s our focus,” the skipper says with determination.

Would it be considered a failure if Hibs fail to secure that top-six spot?

“It’s probably too early to class it as a failure but in terms of the league campaign we should be in the top six, there is no doubt about it,” Hanlon admits.

"We’ve had plenty of opportunities to pick up more points over the last couple of months. When you look back on it we should have done. No doubt it would be a massive disappointment if we don’t do it.”

For Hearts, there is little other than pride and a morale-boosting three points going into next weekend’s Scottish Cup semi-final at stake. For Hibs, it is a different story. While they could still scrape into the top half of the table with a draw, that would depend on other results going their way.

They need the three points to be sure, so there will be no