| Edinburgh Derby on Saturday and players just want to be involved. |
 Sol Bamba looks to have persuaded Hibs manager John Hughes that he should be included in the 11 that start the game on Saturday against Hearts. The Ivory Coast international missed last weekend's surprise Scottish Cup quarter-final draw against Ross County with a shoulder injury. However, Hibees boss John Hughes expects Bamba to be ready for the trip across the city to Tynecastle. Hughes said: "Sol is on the way back again - we were playing a bounce match this week and he was banging on my door looking to make sure he got to play in that. I've said many times that he is a very big player for us - but what I need is 11 players hitting form from now until the end of the season. What I saw on Saturday there just does not match my vision of what we are trying to do at this club. No person here can delude themselves into thinking that they are better than they are because it will come back and bite you. Hopefully, though, we will get Sol back into the side this week at Tynecastle - and I think this will be his first derby match." Hughes is also hoping to have Merouane Zemmama back from a hamstring injury, saying: "We are trying to push him on although the bounce game this week was perhaps a little bit early for him."
Hughes is looking forward to meeting up with his former boss, Jim Jefferies, who will be in the home dugout on Saturday. This is the second time Jeffries have been in charge of Hearts and Saturday will be the first time he will be involved in the derby since returning to Tynecastle in January. Former Falkirk and Hibs defender Hughes said: "I'm really looking forward to the game on Saturday and knowing Jim Jefferies and Billy Brown as I do, they will be looking forward to it as well. They will have their side giving 100% because that's what they do. These are two guys that will back you 100% as well. It does not surprise me that Jim has gone back there and knocked a few noses out of joint. We go to Tynecastle knowing just how important this game is and what it means to our supporters, but we can go there knowing that we can play a lot better than we did last week and knowing that we have to do things better. I don't think Hearts have beaten us in the league for a while and we are aiming to keep that intact come Saturday evening."
Hughes knows a win would not only ensure bragging rights and three valuable points but help his side go into next Tuesday night's cup replay in the best possible frame of mind. He said: "The game in Dingwall is obviously going to be very difficult; they showed their quality on Saturday and, if I'm honest, we did carry a lot of luck, in particular in the last 15 minutes. The real disappointment was being 2-1 up and then we go and concede a late goal, and that was really bad considering what was at stake - and the way I saw it, that was such a soft goal. But we have to learn from that and get the show back on the road again." |
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