Surely you can't beat the raucous atmosphere of a rowdy rabble of away fans, their loud, rousing chants driven on by the steady bass thump of a jolly one-man rhythm section.

But not according to Hibernian. Stuart McCall, the Motherwell manager, has expressed his disbelief at the "strange" decision to ban his side's supporters from bringing their drum to Easter Road.

Hibs have told Motherwell fans they cannot bring the floor tom to Saturday's SPFL Premiership match because of complaints from both sets of fans following their meeting in August. Hibs say they have banned drums for being too "intrusive" and McCall is disappointed his players might not have the backing of their most vocal fans, some of whom have threatened to boycott the game.

"Is this at church?" McCall asked, incredulously. "Are we talking about a football ground? A drum was too noisy? If that's correct in this day and age, when the clubs are doing everything to get supporters through the turnstiles . . . the lads that do come along with the drum, both home and away, make it a far better atmosphere. Regarding it being too noisy, I think that's probably a wind-up. Whether it's because Hibs don't want us creating a bit of atmosphere and backing the team . . . I think it's sad.

"In fact, I've just been watching clips of the first game of the season and the atmosphere was really good from both sets of fans. I find it a strange decision and disappointing. I've been to a few Hibs games and they have got a drum. So unless he's lost his drum and it's not fair that we've got a drum, I think it's strange."

A spokesperson for Hibs issued a response, which suggested that it was the type of drum the club was not happy with. "In general, we don't ban drums at Easter Road - unlike many other stadiums," they said. "However, most fans that bring drums bring bass drums; this one is a snare drum which is much more intrusive.

"At the last match against Motherwell at Easter Road we received numerous complaints, both from Hibernian and Motherwell fans. That is why the decision has been taken."

In other, non-drum related news, McCall hopes to have at least one of left-backs Steven Hammell and Zaine Francis-Angol back from hamstring injuries as his side look to build on their 4-1 win over Hearts, which came after consecutive away defeats to Dundee United and St Johnstone. "We were really disappointing in the last two away fixtures, so we need to improve massively on those performances," said McCall. "We need to start getting clean sheets if we are going to produce victories."

Hibs' Jordon Forster, meanwhile, is determined to prove his side are not afraid of playing at home, after manager Terry Butcher was forced to apologise following his side's meek 3-1 defeat to Dundee United last Friday. "We need to try to be a little more brave," Forster insisted.

"Try to get on the ball more and look to pass it more. At the end of the day, it's just a game of football."