From their time as team-mates in the Scotland set-up, David Marshall knows Steven Naismith is a natural-born winner.

The Hibs captain, however, would love nothing better than making sure his Hearts managerial bow gets off to a losing start today.

Marshall and Naismith crossed paths in the national team changing room for well over a decade but will be rivals in today’s crunch lunch-time clash.

Interim boss Naismith has been charged with securing a £5 million European football bounty by leading Hearts to third after Robbie Neilson paid the price for a woeful run of five-straight defeats.

And Marshall always thought the 36-year-old, who has stepped up from his B team post at Hearts, was always destined to become his own man in the dugout.

Marshall said: “He was a good team-mate to have and he is a winner. He is 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, coaching, so he will see it as a good opportunity for him.

“I think Steven has always been vocal, he was always opinionated in the right way. 

“It’s not surprising to me that he has moved into coaching and management, stepping into Robbie’s shoes for the remainder of the season. 

“I haven't spoken to Steven in terms of what he wants to do going forward but you would think management was the ultimate goal.

“It is interesting that it is Steven who got the job but the honest answer is that we just don't know how he 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.”

Bragging rights and vital points in the race for third place are up for grabs for Hearts today, while Hibs are desperate to move a stop closer to sealing a top six berth.

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But veteran shot-stopper Marshall reckons there is no chance that former Rangers, Everton, Norwich City and Hearts striker Naismith will be overwhelmed by the occasion.

He added: “It won't faze him at all. He is confident enough to take that on. 

“I’m sure the last few years he will have pulled things together in his own mind about how he would want to set a team up so I’m sure they will be ready but our focus should be on us and on us performing well because we have been pretty poor in the last couple of games.”

Both teams go into the game struggling for form and lacking in confidence with Hibs having lost their last four, although two of those were against the Old Firm.

And Marshall has no idea whether the upheaval at Hearts will have any bearing on helping the Leith side, who are only one point clear of seventh place Livingston.

He added: “It is impossible to answer that. If we play well at our stadium then I think we are a handful for most teams. 

“The disappointment has stemmed from the last two games really. 

“Before that we were on a good run of form, performance-wise before the break but we have not carried that on. 

“It wasn't too long ago that we were playing well and top six looked well within our sights and we have let ourselves down in the last couple but we have an opportunity on Saturday to go again.”

But Marshall admits there is no disguising the fact that his game is crucial as both teams chase their own targets.

He added: “Of course it is. The early Edinburgh derbies were probably seen as derbies and that was it. 

“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, looking at third and fourth spot. 

“It is always a huge game anyway, regardless of when it is but it probably has even greater significance at this stage.

“Over the last few years, we’ve not beat Hearts so we need to make that count and there is no better opportunity than Saturday.”

After spending 15 years south of the border with the likes of Norwich City and Cardiff City before returning last summer, the Premiership split is all new to ex-Celtic keeper Marshall.

He added: “This is the first time I have been involved in the split and it is almost a run-in before the run-in. 

“You need to put yourself into position and it is 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 European places. We just need to go and perform well on Saturday.”