Robbie Neilson is looking forward to a reunion with old pal Lee Johnson - but plans to arrive champagne in hand when they meet again this weekend.
The Hearts and Hibs bosses are former Tynecastle team-mates but it's been radio silence since Johnson took the reins at Easter Road in May. There's no animosity between the pair, just a laser focus on the task at hand.
And on Sunday that's securing three points in a hotly-anticipated first Edinburgh derby of the campaign. The Jambos are hot favourites following a difficult start to the season for their city rivals, although Hibs did open their Premiership account with a dramatic late win over St Johnstone last weekend. Hearts, too, made a winning start against Ross County and Neilson insists he'll be putting friendships aside in a bid to make it six from six, only then will he pop in to visit his capital counterpart.
Neilson told the Edinburgh Evening News : “Just after Lee took the job we had a wee text back and forward. I haven’t spoken to him or texted him for a while now.
“Once you get into the games you are busy all the time and you don’t really get a chance. I will see him after the game on Sunday.
“When you go into these games, friendships and all that stuff goes out of the window. It’s about making sure we win the game for Hearts. I will probably pop in and see them at full-time – hopefully with the champagne.
“Hibs are a good team with a number of new players. As ever, you go into a derby and the form of the last five or six games goes out of the window. We are away from home and need to make sure we are at it to get a result.”
Neilson revealed key man Stephen Kingsley is his side's only injury worry ahead of the fixture, with the defender being out of training all week. The Hearts manager admits it's "touch and go" for the 28-year-old - but Cammy Devlin is ready to start.
Neilson said: “Devlin is fine, Ginnelly is back in full training and the rest of them are good. Stephen is still touch-and-go. It’s just a case of deciding what the best team is."
