Paul Hanlon has labelled Hibs' Edinburgh derby win as a 'really special day'.
Lee Johnson's men grabbed the capital bragging rights thanks to Kevin Nisbet's second-half winner at a sold-out Easter Road as the men from Leith keep their top six destiny in their own hands going into the final round of fixtures ahead of the league split.
The capital club went into the showdown - like rivals Hearts - on a poor run of results and came up against a new man in the dugout in the shape of Steven Naismith following the Jambos' decision to axe Robbie Neilson last weekend following the Tynecastle defeat to St Mirren as hopes of a top three finish in Gorgie continue to fade away with Aberdeen now five points clear after six wins on the bounce.
READ MORE: Hibs 1 Hearts 0 as Kevin Nisbet steps up, top six destiny in own hands - 3 things we learned
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The big win leaves Hibs just two points behind Hearts in fourth but one ahead of Livingston in seventh in what is set to be a blockbuster final weekend to decide who plays in what half of the table for the final five games. Top six would present the chance to push for European places with Hibs facing St Johnstone on the road next weekend.
Reacting to the derby success in his 40th capital showdown, Hanlon told Hibs' official website: “We really needed that win today. What better way to get back on track than with a win in the Edinburgh Derby.
“I am delighted, we are all delighted, and I hope all the fans are going home with something to shout about.
“There was a lot of pressure on us going into the game which we had put on ourselves in terms of the last few performances. But it was a great day, a sold-out Easter Road singing Sunshine on Leith at the end – it was a really special day.
“Personally it is always special – everyone knows I have grown up a Hibs fan so when that song is played it is always emotional.
“I always enjoy hearing Sunshine On Leith – a lot of the lads who hadn’t seen it before really enjoyed it as well – hopefully we can feed off that now and hear it a few more times between now and the end of the season."
He continued: “It was a wholehearted game, we started well and we caused them a lot of problems which got the fans off their seats. They were right behind us all game and we fed off that.
“We managed to get the goal in the second and we saw it out in pretty comfortable fashion.
“For the goal, I remember the corner was deep and I just headed it back into an area. Nizzy showed great instinct to finish it off – there was no one else in the squad that you want the ball to drop to than Kev in the current squad.”
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