Both sides will be going all out for the win for very different reasons at Easter Road today.
| People are saying the Hibs have nothing to play for as they prepare to meet Celtic in the second last game on their roster for the season. However, they must have forgotten that a number of players will be using these last two games as chances to impress manager Mixu Paatelainen enough for him to offer them a new contract. Ross Chisholm is one of a number of players in this position and he believes such personal goals can spur Hibs on to another good result that can have an impact on the race for the title. The Easter Road side could not reach their ambition of making fourth place and a chance of Europa League football after they were beaten at home by Dundee United in their first top-six game. While technically this meant Hibs had nothing to play for this did not mean the side were just out to make up the 22 players required to start a game. They have since beaten Hearts with a makeshift line-up and dented Rangers' title hopes with a 1-1 draw in midweek. And midfielder Chisholm believes individual aspirations and a lack of pressure means Hibs still have plenty to play for against Gordon Strachan's outfit. Chisholm said: "We were pleased to get a point on Wednesday and the gaffer has spoken to us about going into this game full of confidence. Hopefully we can pick up three points. It's going to be another difficult, difficult match but we got a point on Wednesday and there's no reason why we can't pick up a point or three points on Sunday. There's no pressure on us. There are players playing for places next season and players playing for contracts, so it might not seem on the face of it that there is a lot to play for but there are individual aims to play for." Chisholm will want to have another chance to impress Paatelainen after his touch completely diserted him on Wednesday night against Rangers. Many of his passes and first touches were greeted with derision by the crowd and calls for him to be replaced were heard as early as they first 15 minutes. With two games left in the season, however, manager Mixu Paatelainen is unwilling to take his cards away from his chest about his plans for next season. But the Finn appears to have made up his mind on which players he sees as central to his 2009-10 squad. He said: "When every player goes out there, he has a chance to show what he is about and how good a player he is. Football is about opinion; everybody has opinions on players and teams and how it should be played. They are entitled to that and that opinion can change. I would like to think that during the course of the season I've seen a true picture of the players and what they can do, and we'll make decisions accordingly."
The midfielder, who will shrug off an ankle knock to play against his former club, said: "Most people have seen Derek and Steven playing - they are good players. I think Derek will want to prove people wrong and show that he could have made it for Celtic. He's scoring goals for fun at Hibs and (he wants to show) that he could have done it here at Celtic as well. You saw his goal against Rangers; the way he took it was fantastic. There are only a few people in the SPL who could do that and Derek is one of them. Steven is a lot stronger than what he used to be; he is holding the ball up and he is one of the main assets for Hibs." Brown is expecting a typically-hard fought game at a ground where Celtic lost 2-0 in December. With that in mind, the Scotland midfielder is not too concerned about the fact goal difference may yet play a part in deciding the destination of the title. He said: "They will play good football, they have height and they will be dangerous at set pieces. They will play just as well as they played against Rangers, I'm sure. I will be nervous going in to it but you just have to go and play football and hope that at the end of the 90 minutes you have come out on top. We are aware of that (goal difference) but we will just go out and play our game and as long as we win then it's a positive for us." | ||||
| Editor Ger Harley (ger@scottishfitba.net) Admin Team (admin@scottishfitba.net) This is Scottish-Fitba.Net |
