Hibs offer campaign advice to Dundee
Hibs offer hand of friendship while Glass out for less than originally thought…

HIBS BOSS BOBBY WILLIAMSON WAS YESTERDAY HANDED A BOOST ON THE INJURY FRONT with the news that midfielder Stephen Glass won't be out for the length of time that was originally feared after hobbling out of Monday's Under 21 derby at Easter Road. A scan on Glass' knee has revealed that the injury which was originally thought to be torn ligaments is in fact only a pull and will keep him out for another few weeks as opposed to the months that he and Williamson feared.

"The results of Stephen's scan came back and he is fine, he has not torn ligaments - it's just tweaked slightly so perhaps a couple of weeks for him."  With Hibs still lacking a little on cover for the left side of the park with Roland Edge and Yannick Zambernardi still out, Gary Smith will almost certainly start on the left side of defence again with the Hibs boss looking set to revert back to his favoured back four.  "We tried playing with wing-backs in the wide areas but we did not create as much as we would have liked so we will probably now revert back to a 4-3-3 or 4--4--2."  One of the oft debated points amongst Hibs fans both on Hibs.net and away from it is the lack of entertainment available at Easter Road these days.  With consideration being given to coming out with a three-strong strike force, hopefully there will the chance for some of that entertainment making a reappearance in the green colours at any rate.

Glass - back sooner than thought (sns)

As an ex-Rangers player, Williamson knows what it's all about playing for one of the two biggest clubs in the country.  It was only a couple of years ago that the Old Firm were battling it out to see who could go the entire season without losing a game however the Hibs boss believes that these days are past and that every team has a chance to cause an upset.  “Anybody can beat Rangers and Celtic if they get the breaks, but unfortunately the Old Firm grind out the results. They’ve got that type of player."  Indeed, whilst at Kilmarnock, Williamson saw his side take a 3-0 victory home from Ibrox during Dick Advocaat's reign at the club.  However he believes that anyone wanting to get a result against the Glasgow sides will have to raise their game if they want to win.  "You’ve got to have a tough mentality to play at Ibrox or Parkhead and that’s the type of person I’m trying to encourage to be playing at Easter Road. We want every team, and not just the Old Firm, to come to Easter Road knowing they’re going to have to fight, scratch and bite for everything they get,”

Meanwhile, Dundee fans hoping to be able to help their club out have started up their own fan-led campaign 'Save the Dee'.  With Hibs' own Stand Up And Be Counted campaign only just in it's infancy, Marketing and Communications Director Colin McNeill has offered the Dundee team the opportunity to meet up with him and those on the various committees to look at what is happening at the Easter Road club and how this could help them going forward.  "We’d be delighted to help if asked by this supporter-led initiative in Dundee.  What we have done, and are doing at Easter Road, is unique - we are trail-blazing so to speak."  Although the offer of help and advice is there, McNeill won't be approaching the organisers directly though.  "If the ‘Save the Dee’ campaign would like to speak to us about what is happening at Easter Road then we’d be delighted to do so. We’d be happy to talk to the organisers and perhaps, if they so wished, they could come done to Edinburgh and speak not only to myself but to Hibs fans who are involved, as this is very much a supporter-led initiative."

Despite the fact that not a lot has been revealed with regards to concrete plans for the Hibs campaign, McNeill is adamant that fans will see the benefit of this given that this is as a direct result of what fans have been telling the club for the last six months and more.  "We’ve been involved in an exhaustive consultation process with our supporters for something like six months and are moving forward. We’ve not just listened to what our fans have been saying but are putting some of their ideas into action. We didn’t expect when we launched the campaign to suddenly have Easter Road filled overnight but we do have a lot of initiatives which are being put into place. It is a slow-burning thing, something we won’t be giving up on."

In response to the fact that the game is live on the BBC and given the reduced attendances that have beset [previous live fixtures, the board have taken the decision to open a limited cash gate available for this afternoon's game for fans in the East Stand only.  Fans looking to sit in either the Famous Five or West Stands will need to buy a ticket before entering although these can be bought during the run up to the game from the ticket office.  Meanwhile fans looking to buy Hibs merchandise for Christmas will have the opportunity to shop at the Club store between 12 noon until 4pm on Sundays between now and Christmas.