Hibs and Hearts need to set their bar higher – they should be putting pressure on Rangers and Celtic, says Provan

HAVING rubbished Hibs’ chances of a third-place Premiership finish, I might be in bother.

Holiday camp Hibees are now looking a decent bet to see off faltering Aberdeen.

Incidentally, that holiday camp tag isn’t down to me. It came from former Celtic team-mates who had moved to the Leith outfit.

Compared to the pressure they had known in Glasgow, Easter Road was a shift in Butlins.

But if Jack Ross gets them over the line ahead of the Dons, I’ll be happy to suck it up.

If the two Edinburgh clubs ever get their act together, it would be a shot in the arm for our game.

And I’m not talking about winning the odd cup. They should be contesting European places EVERY season and putting pressure on the Old Firm.

For too long the pair have been an embarrassment to the capital. One Hibs Scottish Cup win in over 100 years? Lamentable.

Across the city, Hearts — the third-biggest club in the country — are back in the Championship.

Given the infrastructure at Tynecastle, that is criminal. They have a terrific support, stadium and training facilities. They can count on fans shovelling £125,000 into the club every month, allowing them to land Liam Boyce.

How in God’s name did they manage to get relegated?

The Jambos should be nowhere the second tier of Scottish football. Like Hibs, they should never be outside the Premiership’s top six.

The last time Hearts mounted a proper title challenge they fell at the last in 1986. Needing only a point against a Dundee side sitting bottom half of the table, they blew it. They’ve never come close since.

Jim Jefferies gave the Old Firm a run for their money in 1998, finishing third and beating Rangers in the Scottish Cup final.

Seven years later, with George Burley as boss, they won eight of their first ten league games.

But owner Vladimir Romanov sacked Burley and they finished 17 points behind champions Celtic.

In the last decade they’ve had a top-four finish just twice. Hibs had three years in the Championship before going up in 2017.

How do Edinburgh’s big two get away with it?

After watching his Hibs side lose, Neil Lennon was asked if the players had a bottle problem. He said: “They shouldn’t have because this isn’t a difficult place to play.”

He meant there was none of the pressure that exists at the Old Firm, much less expectation. That environment has done the capital clubs no favours.

Their players get by on a rare cup win without putting in a credible title challenge.

The bar is set higher elsewhere. At Pittodrie, Derek McInnes is being hounded by a section of the Red Army after some poor results.

That’s the way it is at demanding clubs. During the McInnes era, Aberdeen have never finished lower than fourth.

'LOADS TO OFFER' Rangers boss Gerrard salutes Davis and Jack masterclass as Gers move tantalisingly close to title

Ann Budge and Ron Gordon would die for that record.

While McInnes has had the Dons in Europe for seven straight years, the Edinburgh clubs have gone through 12 managers between them and both been relegated during that time.

A city that should be known for its football clubs is famous for a castle and a wee dug.

Ross might have his side looking good for third place but he won’t be getting ahead of himself.

Cup semi-final defeats to Hearts and St Johnstone summed up Hibs’ split personality. A match for anyone on their day, but brittle when the heat’s turned up.

Ross needs to change that. Hibs should be aiming to finish above Aberdeen every season.

Judging by the transfer window, owner Gordon has Ross’ back. Knocking back the thick end of £3million for Ryan Porteous and Kevin Nisbet was astonishing in this financial climate.

While Dons punted Scott McKenna, Sam Cosgrove and Scott Wright to keep the lights on at Pittodrie, Gordon put the teamsheet before the balance sheet.

Now it’s up to Ross and his boys to get over the line. The Hibs gaffer will feel his players have enough in their legs to grab third spot.

But he would be advised to get what goes on in their heads sorted out.

IF Rangers were right to highlight inconsistencies in the SFA’s disciplinary system, they forfeited their credibility by appealing Kemar Roofe’s ban.

Does Steven Gerrard really believe Roofe’s over- the-ball lunge at Murray Davidson was a yellow-card offence? With his foot planted at impact, Davidson was fortunate to avoid serious injury.

St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson felt the tackle wasn’t malicious but that’s not the point.

It was a challenge that could have caused more serious damage.

 HARD to believe Uefa still see the Euro finals going ahead in 12 cities this summer.

With borders closed and varying quarantine requirements throughout Europe, you’ll get long odds on Michel Platini’s mad plan going ahead.

Scotland’s new border restrictions have seen SFA chief Ian Maxwell at Holyrood trying to make a case for Euro games going ahead at Hampden.

If he gets an even break from Nippy Nicola he’ll be the first.

 WHAT’S not to like about thousands of Hearts punters buying virtual tickets for the Caley Thistle game?

With the Jambos in financial bother seven years ago, Caley donated a slice of ticket sales to Hearts’ fighting fund.

Last season, the Highlanders voted against the SPFL proposal that saw Hearts relegated.

Tynecastle fans didn’t forget and now a support that puts bundles into their own club is helping out another. Class.

 DON’T get Holyrood’s thinking in extending the suspension of lower-league football.

They allowed the part-timers to kick-off when clubs had no cash for proper Covid-19 testing.

The League Cup saw players with day jobs in against Premiership clubs supposed to be operating in bio-secure bubbles.

Now bailed out by grants, minnow outfits can afford proper testing but won’t be allowed to restart training until next month at the earliest.

Meanwhile, part-timers Arbroath and Alloa get the green light to continue playing in the Championship. Crazy.

 EVERY dog has its day, so I won’t grudge Dave King a good gloat at Celtic’s collapse.

King made some crass remarks when Rangers chairman, including a cheap shot at Derek McInnes when he rejected the Ibrox job. It was a needless dig unbecoming of a Rangers chairman.

When he predicted Celts would fold like a pack of cards if put under pressure, it sounded like more hot air. Turns out he was spot on.

He should send the Celts board a thank you card.

Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page