Derby day is not for the faint hearted! And that is something that Chris Hogg certainly fully understands perhaps a lot more now than he did when he first arrived in Edinburgh - when supporters come up to the Hibernian skipper and tell him that this is the game they live for, he knows they are not overstating the point in the slightest.

Yet at the same time as a professional footballer, Hogg can't afford to allow himself to be carried away by it all - and as club captain he can't allow any of his team-mates to either: "It is very important that we keep a perspective on things and not get carried away. We will have to grind out results sometimes but the aim of course is to keep performing the best we can.

"We go into all our games expecting to win three points so any pressure really comes from ourselves. I really don't listen to the Scottish News or read newspapers, I don't take on board any outside influences and that for me is important because it allows me to keep that perspective on the game. We have a confident group of players right now and we all expect to win the football game, and that is why the only real pressure on us comes from within."

Banishing outside influences is not easy at the best of times, but this week you can hardly get out of your car without seeing some references to the big day on Saturday. Hogg however does manage to retain that perspective on things, while knowing full well the importance of the occasion: "Winning on Saturday would obviously be a great thing for the club - it's a Derby and so a bit more special. But we're not kidding ourselves either - we know that Hearts are always difficult in particular at Tynecastle. We relish going there and we relish the atmosphere at that stadium, our job will be to really get in about them from the start.

"How Hearts have been doing this season does not matter. There have been seasons where Hearts have been doing a lot better than us but we've gone there and won the game, and it's worked the other way as well. This is a one-off game, it's a Derby and will be fast and frantic - the team that handles that best, who keeps the ball on the deck, will have a better chance to take the points."  For whatever it is worth Hibernian do go into the game in great shape on the back of a six-match undefeated league run. The season thus far has certainly be kinder to those who work around Easter Road than Tynecastle.

Hogg said: "There is always plenty of wishful thinking in pre-season on what you might do but I think things have gone pretty well for us so far. We have targets in our own minds but we have to maintain the level of consistency that we've achieved, and at the same time not get carried away by league position - we have been taking each game as it comes along. We do seem to have rode our luck at times when we have had to grind out some results, games like last week were Aberdeen were doing well and even when down to nine men were determined and dogged, and it took us to the 88th minute to break them down. That is something we will have to do throughout this season.

"But If you ask anyone from this city about the Derby they will tell you it's massive - some supporters tell me they live for this game. It's a game we want to win, we have been working towards winning all week and we will all be working very hard to do that."

It's a massive weekend for Hibernian - as well as the Derby, the Hibernian Ladies side will contest the SWPL Cup final at Recreation Park, Alloa (Kick off 2.00pm on Saturday) while on Sunday the Hibernian Under-19 side start their defence of the SFA Youth Cup when they take on Inverness Clachnacuddin at the Hibernian Training Centre (Kick off 1.00pm).  Hibernian TV and the Hibernian Official Website will be reporting from all three games.