AN Edinburgh derby could never be considered an irrelevance given how much it means to so many people in the capital.
For Hibernian, though, Sunday's meeting at Tynecastle carries far less significance than would normally be the case.
With all matters in the bottom half of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League now settled, Hibs' thoughts have begun to turn to the William Hill Scottish Cup final on May 25. They have three warm-up games before then – including this weekend's encounter with Hearts – as they try to keep things ticking over ahead of their Hampden date with Celtic.
It is a tournament that continues to torment the Easter Road club. It is now 111 years since the trophy last found its way to Leith, while those Hibs folk who experienced last season's 5-1 final humiliation at the hands of Hearts may find they can never fully erase it from their memories. They will be firm underdogs when they take on Neil Lennon's side later this month but they will approach the game not entirely without hope. In Leigh Griffiths they have a striker with a genuine claim to be considered Scotland's player of the year, a striker who can win matches almost on his own as he has ably demonstrated on many an occasion this season.
How to deploy him in the weeks leading up to the final may provide manager Pat Fenlon with something of a dilemma. One of his predecessors, however, believes the time has come to take Griffiths out of the frontline to ensure he is fit for Hampden.
"I think he [Fenlon] will be tempted [to leave him out] because Griffiths is such an important player for Hibs," was the view of John Collins as he promoted ESPN's coverage of Sunday's game.
"If he was to miss the cup final then you could just wave goodbye to Hibs having any chance of winning the trophy. He's so important that the manager must be thinking about that.
"Leigh's had an unbelievable season. Most football players have ambition and everybody wants to get to the top of their tree and earn as much money as they can in their careers, but Hibs seem to be a good fit for him. He's a supporter, he's from the area. He's the kingpin isn't he? The team and the club revolve around him. Would he be allowed to do that at another club? Probably not. There's no doubt that he's a finisher. He scores good goals and I have to say that Hibs haven't created a lot of goals for him. He creates a lot of goals for himself and I wouldn't like to see where they would be without him. He's happy at Hibs, isn't he? It sounds like it." Collins hoped the Hibs players would be able to forget last season's final and focus instead on the chance to become instant legends. "Last year's performance and result was painful for everybody associated with Hibs – the players more than anybody, but also the manager, the players and supporters. Losing 5-1 to your rivals will be remembered until you leave but to go and beat Celtic, who've beaten Barcelona and who've won the league – that would be a great achievement.
"So they have to forget last season, move on. In football, as in life, it's the future that counts and the next game – that's got to be their mentality. Try to forget that completely. They could be legends, Last year was an embarrassment but if they pull it off this year then every single one of them associated with the game will be a hero.
"Every manager, coach, player and supporter wants to get to Hampden. It's a great way to end the season and they beat SPL teams to get there, so their cup form has been outstanding."
"It's been a disappointing season for Hibs – they're in the bottom half of the league alongside Hearts. They're big clubs with big supports and they should be in the top half. From the league perspective they should be disappointed, but they've got to the cup final, so they can finish the season on a high."
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