Neil Critchley has been made aware of the importance of the Edinburgh derby. The Heart of Midlothian head coach has been given the lowdown by the encyclopaedic kitman Gordon Paterson.

"Words I can't use," was the answer to a question asking what he had been told by Gogsy about the game.

The derby isn't 'just another game'. Certainly not to Hearts fans. That has been the case for players going back to the 1980s. There is perhaps no one better placed to advise the new head coach on the fixture than the king of the derby, the ace of Hearts. John Robertson.

"When you come to the derby games, it's different," the Hearts legend said. "When I think back to the 80s, Hearts have always prepared completely differently for the derby games than any other match.

"From the Monday onwards, it's not to do with the training. It's more a mental aspect of the game and a technical aspect of the game.

"The build up, Alex MacDonald would talk about the fans in the street. He talked about the people in the shops, people in the bars and restaurants, how it affects them. How you can't let them down and he had an incredibly successful period at the time in derbies. It was unbelievable."

Robertson, scorer of 27 goals against Hibs, believes Critchley is "going to have to try and get that in" but noted that Liam Fox "will be hugely beneficial for him at the moment". 

"He's not daft, he'll have managed in derby games and he'll be involved as a coach over the years in derby games," he said. "He'll understand what it means, but this will be a big test for him because it's a massive derby. I'm not sure it's a Blackpool - Morecambe or a QPR - Leyton Orient thing.

"It's going to be fiery, he's going to be in there at the deep end. But he's got the calmness to be able to deal with it.

"He's got to get his players up for it and let them know exactly what it means to the fans, but also keep them calm. Especially in these times, you've seen the red cards Hibs have had of late.

"Losing a man these days is catastrophic because it can put you under real pressure, especially in a derby match. You don't want to go a man down with a mistimed tackle. So it's not the old fashioned 80s and 90s where MacDonald and Jim Jefferies would say get in there early, you've got to smash them. The first 50-50 you get, get right through them and get the crowd up or get their crowd down.

"You've got to watch yourself. You can't have one missed time tackle in the first 5 minutes or you can be straight off.

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"I like what I see of Neil. I've not met the man yet, hopefully I will at some stage, but I like the cut of his jib and the way he's presenting himself at the moment."

When it comes to that build up and preparation, getting players in the mindset of playing in an Edinburgh derby but also ensuring they don't get too wound up, Robertson revealed "one of the best ones" at doing so will be part of the Hearts delegation at Tynecastle Park. Someone who had a formidable record against Hibs as player and manager.

"Gary Locke had the perfect example of it," Robertson said. "Enough in him to get the players wound up for the derby game, but enough to also say you've got to calm yourself a wee bit as well and not get involved. Sometimes that was a classic do as I say, not as I do for Gary!

"But he talked about it, you're going to run out there, you're going to see 4,500, 5,000 Hearts fans in a bank of maroon to the right.

"They've come down here expecting to win, not hoping to win. Expecting to win. He tried to put that message over to the players, so I think Neil will understand that aspect of it."

John Robertson was a guest on The Warm-Up, the essential William Hill SPFL preview show. Watch their exclusive Edinburgh Derby episode here.