Hearts v Hibernian: Steven Naismith and Nick Montgomery facing different pressures

The Edinburgh derby is always a big occasion, but this particular meeting on Wednesday evening is a massively interesting and important one for the men in the dugouts.

Heart of Midlothian were on an excellent run of form before they were thoroughly turned over at Ibrox at the weekend. It was however a showing that was more about Rangers' dominance rather than inherent negatives surrounding Steven Naismith's side.

While they should not be lambasted for the comfortable defeat at the league leaders, there will be concern of a Hearts hangover given the emphatic nature of the scoreline. It will be intriguing to see how they react.

And just as the Gorgie side's period of riding high came to a halt, Hibs arrested their terrible slump with a first Scottish Premiership win since December.

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The Easter Road club have brought some good technical players in during the recent winter window. Myziane Maolida's winner against Dundee was an absolutely cracking finish, with the on-loan Hertha Berlin forward making it three goals in five games.

It's all about getting the balance in their team now. Nathan Moriah-Welsh seems to have brought some stability in the middle of the park, but they failed to strengthen defensively in January and their backline remains an Achilles' heel.

Unless Hibs are riding on cloud nine, there's an in-built trepidation heading into a derby. That's their narrative in this storied fixture. Hearts always seem to go into these showdowns with a bit more confidence, which should only be bolstered in the home comforts of Tynecastle.

'Public perception can shift in blink of an eye'

That said, the weekend results for both sides throw somewhat of a spanner in the works in terms of what we might have predicted.

Before his side's thrashing at Rangers, Naismith spearheaded a spell that silenced his doubters and even turned the view of his critics. The nature of the result in Govan could put a wee pause on that.

We all know by now that football fans can be fickle and public perception can shift in the blink of an eye.

That's not to say a derby defeat would have Hearts fans banging the drum and demanding immediate action, but a lot of the good work in their previous 12 games could be undone if the weekend thumping is followed up by their city rivals winning in their own backyard.

Although I feel third place is practically sewn up, there is a risk that the maroon momentum built over the past few months could be derailed by two damaging defeats on the spin.

Meanwhile for Nick Montgomery, his task is simply to garner enough positivity to see him through to the summer. This fixture could be huge in the context of Hibs taking a place in the top six with just seven games to go before the split.

The Englishman needs to create enough of a feel-good factor that he can approach the transfer window with the trust of an expectant Easter Road support.

That trust will come with getting results - big results. And as everyone in the capital will tell you - including both of these scrutinised young managers - there's no bigger result than a win in the Edinburgh derby.

Former Hearts and Hibs midfielder Michael Stewart was speaking to BBC Scotland's Sean McGill

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