The secrets behind Hibs becoming as solid as the old castle rock

Paul McGinn and Alex Gogic have been key to Hibs' defensive resolve. Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group

It is the Hearts song that features the line about their defence being as strong as the old castle rock. But, when the Capital sides face up at Hampden on Saturday, Hibs are hoping they will be the ones calling the tune.

As it stands, the Leith club have never bettered their neighbours at a neutral venue and while they have the more recent bragging rights on Scottish Cup duty, having vanquished Robbie Neilson’s side en route to the long-awaited success in 2016, head-to-heads at Hampden Park have been ones to forget for the green-and-white side of Edinburgh.

Conceding an accumulated nine goals to their rivals in their last two meetings at the national stadium, that is just one fewer than the entire number of goals shipped in their first dozen Premiership games this season.

Which presents Hearts with a different proposition than previous encounters in Glasgow. While Tynecastle teams are, more often, attributed with organisation and solidity, Hibs have long since enjoyed a romantic view of themselves as a more cavalier enterprise.

That attack-minded attitude has always found favour with Hibs fans, whose main target has been scoring more than their rivals.

A simplistic approach, up against Gorgie teams that could boast solid defences and also pack a punch up front, statistics and history proves the respective tactics offered Hearts more satisfaction than Hibs.

But, Hbs ambitions are built on a more solid foundation these days, which make for an intriguing encounter.

Notable turnaround

This season they have recorded clean sheets in 50 per cent of their 12 league matches, and only once have they conceded more than two goals in a game.

That represents a notable turnaround from last term. Until this season there had been a worrying see-saw that either tipped too far towards protecting their own goal at the expense of chances at the other end, or favoured more voracious attacking displays which left them dangerously exposed at the back.

Since his arrival almost a year ago, Jack Ross has worked relentlessly to pull together a more balanced team, one where defence can galvanise attack but where the strikers are also the industrious frontline of his defence. So far, this season, it has paid off.

Which is why the team that managed just four clean sheets in his 22 games in charge last term are now a far more miserly proposition, completely nullifying adversaries at a rate of every second outing.