Fenlon relishes opportunity to visit Tynecastle and repeat last derby win

Stewart Fisher
Sports Writer

PAT Fenlon the player would have loved to have got stuck in at a venue like Tynecastle.

But going there as Hibs manager might just be the next best thing. Having ended his side's derby hoodoo with a single-goal victory in a William Hill Scottish Cup fourth round tie at Easter Road last month, the logical next step is travelling across the city to upset their Edinburgh rivals on their own patch. Hibs haven't won in Gorgie since May 2009, but Fenlon fully expects his players to "stand up and be counted" on January 2.

"I have only been there once as a manager, but I have been in the away end a few times and it is tasty, it is enjoyable and it's what you want in football," said Fenlon, a teenage Celtic fan who has always had a keen interest in Scottish football. "It is on top of you and you have got to stand up to be counted and as a player you would love going to places like that – but you have got to control yourself and make sure that you play the game in the right manner as well. It's another big test for the players, but they have got to go there and embrace that and enjoy that and we certainly will. We will stand up to be counted."

That cup win, secured with a solitary David Wotherspoon goal, was the first time most of his players had tasted victory in the capital derby, but Fenlon is reluctant to read too much into such precedent. The former Bohemians and Shelbourne boss has populated his side with battling types such as Gary Deegan, Jorge Claros and James McPake, and knows they will be in the thick of it until the last.

"Beating anybody is pleasurable, but having been here only a short period of time and with what has gone on, it was a relief knowing we had sent the supporters home with a smile on their face for the first time in a while after a game against them," the Irishman said. "It can be a coincidence when you can't beat a particular team but I don't think that was the case with Hibs and Hearts, a lot had to do with what we had to spend compared to them. I don't think it will ever be the other way round, where we are spending more than them, to be honest.

"If you look at the two games against them this season," he added, "we probably played better in the draw [1-1 in the league] and they played better in the defeat here. That sums football up and probably derby matches as well. But in both games we were still there scrapping away in the last few minutes and I think that's important because maybe previously we would have been out the game by then. "

Although John McGlynn is on record as saying that reeling Hibs in before the winter break was a target, Fenlon is reluctant to measure himself against any other club. As an interested observer of the general football scene, he has been pleasantly surprised by the standard of this season's dog-eat-dog SPL and feels that all that doom-laden talk that the Scottish top flight would become akin to the League of Ireland in the absence of Rangers was disrespectful. "I think the League of Ireland is better than people think," Fenlon said. "If you look in the SPL there are a lot of good players who have come through the League of Ireland and down in England, too.

"Look at the last Ireland team that played against Greece, I did the commentary and I think there were seven League of Ireland players who started and another came on to make it eight. It's a good, honest league with honest players and it's developing players all the time. I wouldn't be critical of any league I have played or managed in. I think in Scotland we are overly critical of the league and I think we need to give it better credit."

Taken from the Herald