Grant Scott spoke to HibsTV in the run-up to the latest Edinburgh Derby to be played at Easter Road.
Scott said the privilege to play at the stadium would be a great advert for the women’s game and hoped to smash the record attendance for another successive year.
“I hope the players appreciate the experience. We’re very honoured and it’s great support from the club to allow us to play here and I hope it’s a good occasion.
“It’s so commendable that Baille Gifford is supporting this event for both clubs. Both are in good form and it’s a good opportunity for new fans to come. I’d urge anyone to come along if they can.
“When you see the backing that both Edinburgh clubs have given their women’s sides it’s good exposure for the game. We hope that we can find some new fans that support the club on a permanent basis.”
With just over 8,000 fans having claimed their free tickets already – Grant was excited by the atmosphere that could be created.
“Particularly when there’s noise, you can’t always get your message across from the touchline – but it’s a bit of a cliché to say it’s a twelfth man, especially when you can see the extra energy being squeezed out of the players. But it’s really exciting to see that when you have numbers like that behind you.”
Despite coming into this derby having scored 23 goals across their last 3 fixtures – conceding only once – Scott was adamant that his players need to remain level-headed going into this game.
“To give a standard football manager response… form genuinely does go out the window in derby matches. We will try our best to take our current form into this game, but Hearts are in good form. They don’t lose a lot of goals and they are pretty difficult to break down. We’re in a good mood naturally with the score lines we’ve had, but it’s a different proposition on the weekend. We can’t turn up and assume it’s going to click again.”
Grant also looked back on the opening derby of the season, in which his side squeezed out a narrow 1-0 victory.
“We didn’t beat them at all last year and that’s maybe given them an edge in these games. If we can put together a similar string of results, then we can get the edge this time. There’s little bits and pieces like that we can take from the game.”
“Since the last derby we’ve bemoaned inconsistency a little bit, but I think that’s normal, particularly with a young squad and a new playing style. We’re starting to show now that things are starting to gel that little bit, and there are good relationships on and off the pitch. That’s where you’re seeing the goals and flow come from. “
“There are players in our dressing room that know what this fixture means and what it means to play here. They are massively important to us, whether they play or not. We will go into this game to try and win."
Finally, the manager spoke more about the positive atmosphere that surrounded the club in the build-up to the game.
“It’s a little bit special on derby week – there’s no getting away from it. As professional as the staff are it’s always a tricky one with twenty players who’ve got a smile on their face and who want to play, but I’ve got to commend the squad - even those who haven’t played recently. We’re all behind each other and we’re going to need all of that at the weekend.