FOOTBALL wise, the weekend didn't bring Hibs fans many reasons to be cheerful with another poor Ibrox performance leaving us with what we deserved – hee haw.
Fingers are being pointed at Chris Hogg, but I'm not having that. He has been immense for us at the back this season and has easily laid claim to David Murphy's "Mr Consistency" tag.
Rangers are going all out for Scottish Football domination and
a lot of us were hoping that we perhaps showed as much desire for that coveted third spot. Thankfully there are still a few games remaining to put that right.
Off the field, there was a piece of good news last week when it was reported that Hibs and Ian Murray had agreed a deal to continue his stay at Easter Road.
Last year, when it was rumoured Hibs were looking to bring him back on loan, it got a lot of fans talking. Most were excited by the prospect, others less so as bitter feelings regarding his departure from Hibs to Rangers were brought back to the fore.
Personally, I was one of the former, genuinely excited that we were getting another good player in our ranks. I was a fan of Ian Murray when he captained the team. I felt as long as he could stay injury free, we'd be getting a pretty good player.
His first game was a massive one – there's nothing like an Edinburgh derby to show your intentions, and Ian Murray did just that. Ask Robbie Neilson.
Ian admitted in last week's matchday programme that he was aware many fans were still quite angry towards him but he went on to say how he hoped that number would dwindle as he put in good performances. And going by how he has handled things since the derby he must be thinking the number of those harbouring traitor-esque feelings must be into single figures by now. So, when the news came last week that his loan deal was set to become permanent, I for one was delighted.
Before he came back I thought we were getting a decent player in Ian Murray, but he appears to have become even better than I remember, with his versatility giving Mixu the option of playing him in a number of positions.
As much as I would prefer to see him in a settled central midfield position, wherever he plays, he has contributed loads every time.
Since he left Hibs, his troubles regarding injury and selection have been well documented. I just get the feeling that first and foremost he's just delighted to be playing again. For a Hibs supporter to be back playing at Hibs, that must make it all the sweeter for him. The story about Ian's new contract came out last week and ominously mentioned that it was all but signed.
I am led to believe that that small matter will be resolved within the next couple of days.
I'm also keeping an eye on other players who may be returning to Easter Road, some of whom have been making their own headlines of late.
When Damon Gray went on loan to Partick Thistle, most of us thought it would be a good chance for him to get some first team experience, not quite imagining he would find himself dominating the back pages after a cracking goal against Rangers in the Cup last week. He's a great wee prospect who first caught my eye with that cracking goal at Pittodrie last season.
Definitely one to watch out for in a green and white shirt in the very near future. It was a quiet weekend for another loan Hibee, Mickael Antoine-Curier. He didn't score a goal thanks to the fact that he was suspended, having been sent off last week. He has been almost scoring at will at Dundee.
Ideally, we would have liked to have seen more goals from current Hibs players at Ibrox on Saturday, but it wasn't to be. However the signs are that the three-way pagger between Mixu, McGhee and Levein for third place is going to go right to the wire.
Glory, Glory!
I'm happy to go to Tynecastle IF you are a supporter of either of the Edinburgh sides, then get along to Tynecastle for 2.00pm this coming Sunday to see the third annual Edinburgh Charity Game between Hibs fans and Hearts fans. All the money raised will go to Maggie's Cancer Care in Edinburgh. Hearts won the trophy first time round, Hibs won it last year, so Sunday should be a cracker. Visit www.edinburghcharitygame .co.uk for full details.
See you there!
The full article contains 786 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
