Nick Montgomery admits Hearts gap is a sore point as Lawrence Shankland set for special treatment

Nick Montgomery has admitted Hearts' huge points advantage over Hibs is a sore point - as he looks to keep Lawrence Shankland quiet in the Edinburgh derby.

The capital duo go head to head under the lights at Tynecastle on Wednesday night with a whopping 21 points standing between the city rivals. Steven Naismith's side - who lost 5-0 to Rangers last weekend - had been on a flying run of form and have surged clear in third place in the race to finish best of the rest and book a European ticket for next season. The Hibees languish in seventh spot as they battle to reach the top six with every point crucial.

Montgomery is far from happy with the situation but believes the recruitment drive at Easter Road in January has given them the chance to start playing catch-up on the teams above them. He explained: "I'm not happy with the gap in points and I know the fans are not happy with the gap in points. The fact of the matter is Hearts went on a really good run when we went through a really tough period and lost a bit of ground.

"Every game now is an opportunity to claw points back on the opposition you're playing and the teams above you. We can't change what's happened but we can give ourselves an opportunity to close the gap on every team above us, like we did at the weekend against Dundee.

"We've brought a lot of new players in, there's been a lot of change, and I think the quality in the squad gives us the chance to finish the season positively. We can't look at the points, but we can prepare as well as we can and try to go into the game against Hearts with the right mindset that we can go there and get the result."

Shankland boasts an incredible goal record for Hearts with 53 strikes in less than two seasons in maroon.