New Hearts loan signing Demetri Mitchell admits the Edinburgh derby with Hibs wasn’t the wrestling match he expected
The 21-year-old heard so much about Neil Lennon's Hibees he thought he was going up against THE ROCK
DEMETRI MITCHELL was prepared for a right Royal Rumble when Hibs visited Tynecastle last week.
Instead it was Hearts who delivered a devastating derby day SmackDown to their Edinburgh rivals.
And the on-loan Manchester United kid admits the Capital clash wasn’t the wrestling match he expected.
The 21-year-old heard so much about Neil Lennon’s Hibees he thought he was going up against THE ROCK.
But in the end, Craig Levein’s Jambos who stayed stone cold to win their first derby in ten attempts.
And Mitchell, named man of the match, was left wondering what all the fuss was about.
He said: “People were telling me how physical the game was going to be and how frantic it would be.
“The way people were talking, I was expecting to be coming up against The Rock!
“But it was OK. It was definitely frantic, but I didn’t think it was as physical as people said it would be.
“It was quick and obviously a lot different to Under-23 football.
“But we’ve got some good players who like to play football as well as mixing in the physical side, so I enjoyed it.
“The atmosphere was second to none. Because it was close to the fans, you can hear everything.
“So for my first game for Hearts to be in an atmosphere like that, and then to win it, was pretty special.”
Jose Mourinho handed full-back Mitchell his first United start against Crystal Palace in May.
And he admits playing in front of 75,000 fans that day helped him when he ran out at Tynecastle.
The defender almost capped a memorable debut with a stunning volleyed goal but was denied by Ofir Marciano.
But even that disappointment could not take the shine off a fine start to his Hearts career.
He said: “I think playing at Old Trafford at the end of last season helped me get ready for the derby.
“It braced me for playing in front of all of those fans, with the pressure and the atmosphere.
“There were 75,000 at Old Trafford, it was full that day. But because this was a derby there was more expectation.
“Going into the game I could say to myself ‘I’ve played in front of so many fans before and done okay, I can handle this’.
“And I feel like I did. Because it was a derby I could probably hear the fans more because they were so close.
“It was more intense. The atmosphere was amazing. I thought I had scored too, but their keeper clawed it out with a pretty magnificent save.
“But we won the game and that’s the most important thing.”
Mitchell, though, knows that Hamilton’s SuperSeal Stadium will be very different to anything he has faced before.
The United youngster hasn’t even played on an artificial surface for five years.
But the way he sees it it’s just another opportunity to impress in a maroon jersey.
He said: “The boys have told me it’s an astroturf pitch, the last time I would have played on a pitch like that would be Under-16 level.
“So it’s something that will be kind of new to me, but it’s something I’ll thrive on.
“It’s another chance to show what I can do and help Hearts. The team spirit just feels great here.
“I felt so much a part of the team it’s like I have been here a long time even though it was my first game.
“And with more games to come it’s only going to feel more like that.”
Sunday’s win stretched Hearts’ own unbeaten run to ten games and saw them chalk up their seventh clean sheet in a row.
But despite their impressive run of form boss Levein is refusing to get too carried away.
He still wants to see more from them in an attacking sense to add to their impressive play at the back.
And he has warned his side he does not want to see a drop in form after such a big win at the weekend.
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He said: “It keeps going. The Hibs game is done and now we are back to bread-and-butter stuff.
“We’re going to Hamilton, which hasn’t always been an enjoyable experience for us.
“We have a level of consistency but we need to improve on that and use Sunday as a springboard to really get going.
“It would be disappointing to say the least if we had a victory like that and ended up falling back to below what is acceptable.
“It’s a good feeling to be on the run we are but we don’t speak about it. I don’t think there is any point.
“We are not focusing on it. We are trying to win the games.
“I don’t want that to become the only thing that matters because then you lessen your chance of scoring goals — and we are not exactly banging them in left, right and centre just now.
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“So we need to have that balance and make sure that we don’t forget about the attacking side.
“Hamilton didn’t play particularly well against Motherwell by all accounts but that makes them more dangerous because they have had a kick up the backside.
“They will be stinging after losing a derby to their rivals. They will be ready to come out fighting.”