Ross: Wembley has prepared me for derby

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Hibernian head coach Jack Ross says he won’t be daunted by the occasion after managing at Wembley

Hibernian head coach Jack Ross says he won’t be daunted by the occasion after managing at Wembley

Hibernian boss Jack Ross says his Wembley experience has prepared him for his first Edinburgh derby against Hearts on Boxing Day, live on Sky Sports Football.

Ross was sacked by Sunderland in October, having led them to a Checkatrade Trophy final defeat to Portsmouth in March and further heartbreak as Charlton pipped them to promotion with a last-gasp playoff final winner in May.

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The 43-year-old, who spent a spell as a first-team coach at Tynecastle, insists the occasion will not intimidate him because of his past ventures.

“I’m familiar with the atmosphere and everything around the game,” explained Ross.

“I’ve been involved first hand at the matches so I know how good they are in that respect and how much is at stake within them and the experiences of the last year-and-a-half in particular have meant I’ve been involved in some big games.

Jack Ross believes his Wembley experience will benefit him ahead of the Edinburgh derby

“I’ve been to Wembley twice in front of huge crowds and all of those experiences I think make you better equipped to deal with matches like Boxing Day.”

Ross: Form is meaningless

Hibs have lost their last two Scottish Premiership games to reigning champions Celtic and were comfortably beaten by last season’s runners up Rangers, leaving them in seventh.

Rivals Hearts are bottom of the pile, ten points behind their neighbours, but despite not registering a win in their last seven games, Ross insists he is wary of Daniel Stendel’s team and is under no illusion that form will go out the window in Thursday’s derby.

“What I know we’ll get is a team committed and desperate to win the game in terms of the opposition because they’re in a position in the league where they need that.

“Reading some of his [Stendel’s] comments already, he’s highlighted the fact that it’s a derby match and everything that goes with it so I don’t expect anything less than that.

“I don’t think it makes any difference to where they are in the table at the moment, their recent form. I think the game will be as challenging as it would be normally.”

Gray: Ross has provided a fresh lift

Captain David Gray is in contention to make just his second league appearance of the season, after recovering from knee ligament damage sustained in a 2-2 draw with St Johnstone on August 24.

The 31-year-old has been impressed with the start Ross has made since taking the reins from Paul Heckingbottom last month, but insists successive defeats to Celtic and Rangers highlight the significance of remaining consistent.

“I think there’s been a real intensity all around, even on the training pitch I’ve noticed that massively.

“I think you always see that when managers come in there’s always that freshness. You get some players that have maybe been out of favour or maybe not playing so well that just need that change in management or a change in voice, sometimes give some players an impetus.

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Hibernian captain David Gray has praised boss Jack Ross for giving the side a lift but insists they must push on starting with the Edinburgh derby against Hearts

Hibernian captain David Gray has praised boss Jack Ross for giving the side a lift but insists they must push on starting with the Edinburgh derby against Hearts

“Everyone’s got their own situation, but I think it’s important that since the manager has come in we’ve kicked on a bit but the last couple results haven’t been what we’ve wanted, two tough games.

“I think it’s important we keep pushing on now. We don’t want to just be the same old, a new manager comes in, you get a little bit of a peak and then it falls away again.

“I think it’s up to everybody involved to keep working as hard as we can and there’s no better opportunity than away to Tynecastle.”

Hibs will be without centre-back Ryan Porteous, who picked up a red card in Friday night’s 3-0 defeat to Rangers for a strong challenge on Borna Barisic.

Police Scotland are continuing to investigate several incidents of missiles thrown during the match at Easter Road, which saw Barisic targeted with a bottle after the challenge from Porteous.

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