Neilson: I was robbed of a proper run

But the right-back is hoping his performance at Tannadice on Saturday will have earned him the right to once again savour the powderkeg atmosphere of an Edinburgh derby this afternoon. Valdas Ivanauskas' men host Hibs for the first time on their home patch this season - the third meeting of the sides already this campaign - knowing that a win could put them within touching distance of second spot in the table. Neilson started just his tenth league match of the season against United out of 20 matches played, the three points garnered on Tayside allowing Hearts to close the gap on Aberdeen to four points, while second-top Rangers remain five points ahead.

He has been disappointed at the amount of time that he has spent on the sidelines, conceding that his performances - and those of the team - are affected because of the lack of continuity in the side. The Hearts defender, who has two-and-a-half years still to run on his Tynecastle contract, is keen to be involved again today against John Collins side and said: "It is difficult sometimes. If you are playing it's good, if you're not it's bad. It's one of those things because we've got a big squad and there are always going to be people who are unhappy. I wasn't even in the squad last week which was disappointing for me and I spoke to Valdas about it, had a few words with him and I managed to get in the side against Dundee United.

"But I want to be playing week-in, week-out, I don't want to be sitting on the bench or sitting in the stand. It's not good for me and it's not good for my performances, it's difficult for me to be playing one week and then out for the next two or three, then back in again.

"Obviously I want to be playing every week.I'f I'm playing then I'm enjoying it here. If I'm not playing then I'm not happy but that's the way it is here right now."

Hearts are out for revenge against Hibs following defeats at Easter Road in cup and league already this season and Neilson believe that the fact that today's match is being played at Tynecastle should fill he and his team-mates with confidence: "The results against Hibs this season have not been great but last year we played very well against them at Tynecastle so we have got to take some confidence from that. In the past Tynecastle has been a bit of a fortress, I know that's a cliche. This season it has maybe not been great for us, but hopefully we can get back to doing that again and hopefully I can be involved again." A Paul Hartley penalty nine minutes into the second half at Tannadice was enough to hand Hearts all three points, United defender Stuart Duff handling a Takis Fyssas header in the box.

They were forced to hang on for the victory in the final ten minutes of the match as United pushed for the equaliser but the fact they stood firm was a source of much pleasure for Neilson.

However he conceded that one win was not going to erase the club's troubles of the past few months. He added: "It was an important win for the club, for the players and for the fans. I'm not going to stand here and say that everything is great though, it's a difficult place to be sometimes."

It has been a while since we have ground out a result like that. We went to Tannadice knowing that Dundee United have changed a lot over the last couple of months, they work really hard all over the park and it's not an easy game here. We maybe rode our luck a wee bit but we got the result and it's nice to go into the derby with a win."

Neilson admitted that he and his team-mates had been left stunned by the news that Craig Gordon was being dropped to the bench on Saturday, the club claiming the keeper was too ill to play the full 90 minutes.

Steve Banks took over in goals in Gordon's absence, although Scotland's No.1 keeper certainly didn't look to be suffering from an ailment when warming up before the match in just a short-sleeved shirt.

The Jambos right-back added: "We only found out that Craig wouldn't be playing when Valdas named the team at about one o'clock and it was a big shock to everyone. I don't know what the situation is with Craig but hopefully they can get it sorted out. We are just as much in the dark as everyone else and I really don't know what is going to happen.

"He didn't look ill to me, and I don't think that he was, but there is obviously some kind of situation going on.

"He is keeping his cards close to his chest, he has not said anything about it, that's the type of guy he is, but I am sure that he will want to get it sorted out.

""It was nice to see Paul back in the team on Saturday, he has probably been one of our best players over the last few seasons.

"It was good to see him and you could see what a difference he makes to the team with his drive and ability."

It was a man-of-the-match performance from Banks, the former Gillingham keeper pulling off saves from David Robertson and Barry Robson before clattering into the post late in the game trying to block a free-kick and forcing him to have several minutes of treatment from the Tynecastle physios. It was the Englishman's first start of the season - his last 90 minutes coming in the final game of the last campaign against Rangers at Ibrox - and Neilson was delighted to see the shot-stopper finally get his chance to shine.

However he admits that he's hoping Gordon will be reinstated between the sticks for today's derby. He added: "Hopefully Craig will be back for the Hibs game - and that's no disrespect to Banksy - he's our No.1 and one of the best keepers in Britain right now. I'm pleased for Steve because we see him in training every day and he's a really good keeper.

"He's out of contract at the end of the season and I don't know if he will win a new deal as he never seems to get a chance. But he was magnificent out there, he's good to have about the club and I think we'd all like him to stay.

"In saying that though, if it was my choice I would want to have Craig back in for the Hibs game."

Taken from the Scotsman