Michael Weir: Hearts deserved derby win - they looked more hungry than Hibs

Any derby defeat hurts, but what pains me even more is that Hearts simply looked hungrier than us on Tuesday night and, make no mistake, they thoroughly deserved the win.

I’d heard lots of fans talking before the match of just how many goals Hibs might win by given the gulf between the sides in terms of their respective positions in the Premiership table, but I’ve seen enough of them over the years to know better than that.

I thought it was a great game for the Jambos. There wasn’t too much expectation on them but, following their Scottish Cup win over Rangers, they’d have seen it as an opportunity to try to get their league season up and running.

Midfield needs help

As far as Hibs were concerned, if you have five, six or seven players who don’t perform in any given game you are not going to win, no matter if it’s a derby or an ordinary run-of-the-mill match.

We simply didn’t have enough players who performed on the night and we just didn’t get a grip of the middle of the park. We still need a bit of steel in that area and we didn’t compete as we should, which I found quite harrowing in a derby.

We struggled in midfield. If Scott Allan is going to be effective, you have to be able to get the ball and give it to him. And while Greg Docherty looks like being a good player, I don’t think you can expect a youngster like him to go in there and run the show. The same goes for Stephane Omeonga – they needed a bit help in there.

It’s all very well playing well and winning against Inverness Caley, but a local derby is totally different and, to my mind, has to be treated as a one-off.

I’ve always followed the mantra of horses for courses, you can’t just approach every game playing the same players and the same system. Steven Whittaker may be coming towards the end of his career, but I can’t help but think his experience of the big occasions, not only at Easter Road but with Rangers and Scotland, might have counted for something in that area.

Hibs ‘lacked a Bartley or Milligan’

He’d have added a little more height against a big, strong Hearts side who looked dangerous from set plays and he might have been the one to cajole and guide those around him when, instead, we looked as if we lacked a leader in the shape of a Marvin Bartley or a Mark Milligan.

When things aren’t going well in a game you look to your bench but, again, I thought we were lacking there. There simply isn’t enough there, not enough strength in depth in the squad, players who can come on and influence a game, particularly one that’s going against you.

Jack Ross has only had one transfer window to being making the changes he wants, but there’s certain areas in which we are lacking so, to me, there’s a lot of work to be done come the summer.