Hearts head coach Wouter Vrancken has admitted his first Edinburgh derby will not be his first time surrounded by Hibs fans – after inadvertently booking himself onto a flight full of Hibees last month.
The Belgian is looking forward to Thursday night’s Premiership capital showdown at Easter Road. It will be his first taste of the ground and the hostility that awaits his team in enemy territory.
Flight full of Hibees
Asked if he had bumped into any Hibs fans in his short time in the city, he said: “Actually I did! Not so much in the city but I went home for 24 hours to check on my oldest daughter and my father between the Vienna games.
“I came back to Edinburgh on the Saturday evening and I was actually on a Hibs flight! Because they were coming back from their game in Ghent. It was okay - I was not next to one in the plane! I was thinking a bit like ‘oh my God’. I saw so much green in shirts. So it was pretty much a Hibs flight. But it was friendly. No problem there.”
Derby experience
Vrancken has plenty of derby experience from his spells at Limburg rivals St-Truiden and Genk, where he served as both a player and manager.
He said: “It was nice but also difficult at moments. You have to prove yourself, that you are really fighting for the colours. As a player you're on the pitch and then you go full on. Because you like the game.
“As a manager it's like sometimes opportunities. St Truiden was my home town and it was a really great season. So you have to put the emotions aside. And just focus on the colours you're wearing. You want to win. Especially for the fans. And more than three points. To give something to the fans who are supporting you all season. This is the goal.”
Mental strength
Vrancken knows it will take mental strength as well as quality on the ball to win the affair. But the 47-year-old has urged his Hearts players not to lose themselves in the emotion.
He said: “It's nice as long as the emotion stays around the game. And there is no violence. Sometimes in Belgium it was a little bit too far in emotions next to the pitch. So just everybody supporting their own colour, their own badge. This is a nice thing about football.
“Everybody looks forward to those games. And is excited to play or the coach in this case those games. For the players it's important that you know the weight of the game. The emotions around such a game. So that you know that you have to be there directly with full focus and energy. But also be above the emotions to play your game.”
