Keep Hibs at the bottom

Last updated : 04 November 2010 By TwoTonTed
Jim Jefferies is looking forward to once again gaining the bragging rights in Edinburgh  on Sunday and at the end of the season. Sunday will see Hearts head to Easter Road for the first Edinburgh derby of the season. Jefferies returned as Hearts manager in January and led them to two wins over Hibs. However, that was not enough to see the Jambos finish above their rivals at the end of the season. Hibs finished fourth in the table, qualifying for what proved to be a short-lived European campaign, while Hearts finished sixth. This time around Jefferies wants to change that end of season statistic.  he said: "We won the last couple of games but they finished above us. The most important thing for us is we finish where we want to finish this year and that's at the top end of the table."

Jefferies is eager for his side to bounce back from last Sunday's 3-0 loss to Kilmarnock and put one over on their capital rivals, who are sitting at the bottom of the table with Colin Calderwood succeeding John Hughes as manager. Jefferies said: "We had an opportunity to go third last weekend after some of the results had gone for us and we didn't take advantage of that. There's still two points between us and third place and we want to get up that league. If we finish higher than them (Hibs) this season then we can say we've bettered them."

Jefferies has been part of numerous derbies over the years, with a 7-0 defeat at Tynecastle by Hibs living long in the memory. Almost 38 years on from 1 January 1973, Jefferies still targets revenge. He said: "It was an experience that wasn't very nice at the time, especially for a young player coming into the side. They don't happen too often, but maybe one day we'll get the chance to reverse it so we'll wait for that day coming." Jefferies also has many positive recollections of the fixture, including a 4-0 win at Easter Road on New Year's Day in 1997 where Jim Hamilton scored twice, with Colin Cameron and John Robertson also on target. Jefferies, though, does not believe his intimate knowledge of the fixture helps him over Calderwood, who not only will be experiencing the derby for the first time, but will be taking charge of his first game at Easter Road following two away fixtures in his opening two games. Jefferies said: "I don't see that being a big advantage. Colin's an experienced manager and he's played in big matches. It's a great occasion. I'm looking forward to it and so will he be."