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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Mya Bollan

Craig Gordon tells Hearts teammates there's no let up as he urges an even better showing for Hampden derby

Hearts captain Craig Gordon insists his side need to be at their best as they gear up for this weekend's Scottish Cup clash.

The Jambos will face their Edinburgh rivals Hibs for the second week in a row in the first of this weekend's semi-finals.

Last week's Premiership derby at Tynecastle saw Hearts secure all three points in a 3-1 victory against the Leith outfit.

However, the skipper says that job is far from done with no room for complacency in the squad despite their recent form and performance against Hibs.

It is not only a place in the final up for grabs on Saturday, but the winner will also guarantee their place in the Europa League play-off qualifying round with group stage continental football guaranteed until Christmas in the Europa Conference League.

The Jambos' captain knows the team need t be at their best if they want to reach that all important Scottish Cup Final.

He said: “It’s another huge game for us. We’re looking forward to it because we’re in a good place at the moment.

“We need to go and do it again and perform to the levels, maybe even a bit better, that we showed at Tynecastle."

The keeper highlighted his appreciation for how far the Jambos have come since he returned to Tynecastle.

Gordon's vital penalty shootout stop helped them make the semi (SNS Group)

He added: “We were down in the Championship when I first came in. We got back up and now things are progressing really well. We don’t want to stop here – it’s important to us that we make an impact and try and reach a group stage of a European competition.

“To do that, we need to keep winning games. If we don’t perform, as we saw in the first twenty minutes at Tynecastle, Hibs can hurt us. It’s up to us to put in the performance we know we’re capable of, if we do that then we know we’re capable of winning the game.”

Gordon has plenty experience playing on the big stage that is Hampden.

He was a part of the squad that hammered Hibs 4-0 in the Scottish Cup semi-final back in 2006.

The Jambos went on to win the silverware that year - so will be hoping for a repeat of events 16 years later.

The goalie is hoping that the Hearts support will get right behind his side as more than 21,000 Jambos are set to descend on Hampden this weekend.

“There’s going to be a good Hearts crowd just like there always is! No matter the form of the team, they always turn out in their numbers and back us,” he added.

“It’s a fantastic feeling to be part of a club whose core supporters come to every game around the country. It hammers it home to the players that we’re lucky to have that backing. Hopefully we can give them something to shout about come the end of the game."

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