HIBS MANAGER Alex McLeish said he hoped to drag his old club Aberdeen back into the relegation dogfight.
McLeish has his latest recruit, Justin Skinner, whom he signed from Bristol Rovers, in the pool for the match which once again is a ''must win'' for Hibs.
''Other teams in the relegation area must be getting a bit nervous,'' said McLeish yesterday. ''They have it all to throw away.''
New signing, Skinner, who watched Hibs' important victory over Motherwell last week, said he hadn't known much about the Edinburgh club before signing and had to check the league table to see where they were. He said their league position hadn't put him off and felt they could still pull away from the relegation zone.
Hibs have Jimmy Boco fit again, but striker Barry Lavety is suspended. McLeish has still to make a decision on whether Skinner will play from the start or be given a place on the bench.
McLeish said he had been heartened by the number of chances created by his side against Motherwell but said he had told his strikers to be a bit more ruthless in front of goal rather than try for ''nice, fancy finishes.''
One of the key areas for Hibs will be the central midfield area where McLeish has been playing on-loan Grant Brebner and Pat McGinlay, a pairing which the Hibs manager said had been working well.
Turning his thoughts to today's game, McLeish said Aberdeen would come to Easter Road well-organised and said the introduction of Derek Whyte to their defence had given them even greater stability.
Hibs keeper Bryan Gunn will come up against his old mentor Jim Leighton, whom he understudied during his time at Aber-deen, and in the Scotland set-up. Leighton said he hoped Hibs would avoid relegation as long as it was not at the expense of Aberdeen.
The Scotland goalkeeper rebuilt his career at Easter Road following spells with Manchester United and Dundee, and still has an affinity with the capital club. However, any sympathy will be put on hold for today's game as a Hibs win would take the Dons into the relegation zone.
Leighton said: ''I still have real feelings for Hibs, but that is not something I can afford to think about as my loyalties are to Aberdeen. We are going down there to win as we know we would be only four points off the bottom if we lost, but we are not looking at that happening.''
Manager Alex Miller insists he heads back to the club he was in charge of for a decade, with no relegation worries.
''I am not getting uptight about the situation as we are ahead of a few teams at the bottom and all the pressure is on Hibs,'' he said. ''I am looking for a positive response after the Celtic game last week especially from the players we had on international duty as this is another chance for them to shine.''
BOOKIES' VIEW: Hibernian 13-8, Aberdeen 13-8, Draw 11-5.
Hibernian v
Aberdeen
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