McGregor On Derby Importance & Winning Mentality

Shannon McGregor insists the team are ‘looking forward’ to Friday night’s sold out Edinburgh Derby at the Oriam.

Looking ahead to taking on Hearts for the third time this season, the Hibs midfielder explained that picking up victories no matter the opponent is crucial. 

“We all know that the Edinburgh Derby is one of the biggest games in the fixture list. We are all looking forward to it and we all know what the game means. It’s a league game and we need the three points. I’m looking forward to it and the girls are as well.

“We all know it’s Hearts on Friday and we want the three points. But we go into every game with this mentality of needing three points. The top six is going to be hard but we just need to keep competing to get these points.”

The midfielder started both Capital Cup victories over Hearts so far this season and has praised the sensational Hibees support that continues to follow the girls both home and away.

“I think these victories allow us to gain belief and confidence. When you’ve had that behind you, you always have that confidence to go on and get three points again. 

“It’s always important. The fans follow us everywhere we go. They always create a great atmosphere and I’m looking forward to seeing and hearing them on Friday night.”

McGregor put in a Player of the Match performance in Hibs’ last outing – a 2-1 away defeat to Rangers – and is keen to learn from the strong team showing versus the league leaders. 

“I think it was a positive performance to take into Friday. We all know we held Rangers at 1-0 until around 70 minutes; I think it was a great performance from us. We can take from it and build onto Friday.

“We need to take all the positives, if it’s small or big. We can see from the last few seasons that we are definitely getting closer to the top teams — which is really important. The girls can see that, which gives us the confidence to go into Friday.”