David Marshall speaks on Hibs form, the split, Steven Naismith Hearts factor, away fans, and a must-win Edinburgh derby

But the Hibs captain and goalkeeper left his homeland for a lengthy sojourn in the English leagues before it was brought in, and with this being his first season back in Scotland he will finally get a taste of something new which, at his age, is something of a rarity.

"This is the first time I have been involved in the split, and it’s almost a run-in before the run-in,” he says, previewing the visit of Hearts in what will be a game of mammoth importance for both sides.

"You need to put yourself into position and it’s just the last two performances that have let us down. We are confident that if we play well then we can get enough points in the last two to put ourselves there, then that puts us in a position to influence the European places. We just need to go and perform well on Saturday."

Marshall has already played in three Edinburgh derbies since signing a two-year deal with Hibs but is yet to win one, having experienced a last-gasp draw on his debut in the fixture, while January brought with it consecutive 3-0 defeats, one at Tynecastle in the league and another at Easter Road in the Scottish Cup.

“The Edinburgh derbies [earlier this season] were probably seen as derbies and that was it,” he continues. “Everybody probably thought that if points were dropped then, we could still make them up. But this one has extra significance with both teams going for their end goal. We have not done enough yet to guarantee ourselves top six so we need to make these points count, while Hearts are a few points ahead of us and looking at third and fourth spot. It’s always a huge game anyway, regardless of when it is, but it probably has even greater significance at this stage.”

Marshall is wary of what former international team-mate Steven Naismith can bring to the table, having been appointed interim Hearts boss on a temporary basis. Describing him as a ‘winner’, the 38-year-old admits to a touch of intrigue ahead of the crunch encounter.

"The honest answer is that we just don't know how Steven is going to set up. It will be a different Hearts but it will be interesting to see what he does and how he is on the touchline. He was a good team-mate to have and he is a winner; he’s animated and he has now had that coaching experience with the national team as well. He has been at Hearts for a few years now so he will see it as a good opportunity for him.”