Predictive text with the derby score? "GIRUY"

WELL, it's only six sleeps to go until D-Day in the Capital. No matter how many derbies you go through, no matter how many wins, losses or draws due to Polish goalkeeping errors, it never loses it edge. It never loses its importance.

Generally, form goes out the window, but as it stands this week I'd say Hibs are favourites. However, two weeks ago I'd have said the balance was swinging the other way.

Over the years, I've probably learnt one very important lesson about these games. Never, ever get too cocky with your mates about the outcome. Never try and predict a "certain" result. Never send prophetic texts detailing how the game is going to end up, because the chances are they will all come back and bite you on the glutinous maximus.

Football carries with it many superstitions; from wearing your lucky derby pants to following the same pre-match routine, I'm sure there are many who have these odd little traits and look to anything or anyone for a lucky omen. This Sunday's showdown falls on October 19 which is pretty damn close to that very famous dateline of Sunday, October 22 which fell back in 2000 – and that night saw an Edinburgh Sunday evening derby the likes those of us who were there will never forget.

Okay, the dates aren't the same but, in footballing superstition terms, that's bloody close enough.

We all love derbies, well, we all love derbies before the result. Thereafter the numbers are usually split. It can give you the highest of highs or the lowest sinking feeling which can almost make you feel like life isn't worth living or work isn't worth going in to.

Last season didn't have much between the two sides. There were only three derbies (due to one side's inability to finish in the top six) and those that were played ended up with one win each and a draw. But this one is different again. It's the first of this new season. Things have changed on both sides of the divide; some players have come in, some have come back and some haven't been paid. But more importantly, this gives the game a new feel. For some at Easter Road, an Edinburgh derby will be a new experience. Bamba, Thicot, Van Zanten and Keenan have all yet to sample the delights of playing in this particular fixture. Others like Murray, Jones, Fletcher and one certain Derek Riordan are only too familiar with what this game can bring. Derek left the club for Celtic never having scored a goal in a derby which Hibs ended up winning, so I'm pretty sure that now he's back he would relish the chance of getting that particular monkey off his back.

He will be up for this particular game. No question. And I have a feeling his role in this match could prove to be vital. Someone else who will need no motivation from Mixu will be Ian Murray. And Colin Nish. All players who are Hibs supporters to boot.

I'm sure Mixu's derby experience will come into his pre-match pep talk as well. In his time, Mixu gave us one or two (or three) memorable moments in derbies and will know exactly what this fixture means. So we have Hibs fans as players and a manager who is an ex-player and a self-confessed fan as well. This by no means guarantees success but it's certainly a fantastic combination to have in your side; the less you have to explain the importance of this fixture the better.

It's points for the league table, but we all know what else is at stake in these games. The furious texting that can follow a victory usually coincides with a large number of phones being turned off. This is where the danger of foreseeing the result can lie. Any texts sent proclaiming victory are promptly sent right back to the original sender with the letters "GIRUY" subtlety added. Sometimes you can go the whole hog and bypass text speak and, if you can be bothered, text the full version of "Get It Right Up Ye".

I also enjoy or dread the trip to work post derby the same as everybody else, but I suppose I may be open to slightly more "banter" or "abuse" given that my job on the radio entails reading out e-mails and texts randomly sent in by listeners over a four-hour period. Similarly in this role as columnist, the comments posted online by individuals who all use their "nom de plume" can indeed be quite colourful also!

So, this time next week it will all be done and dusted and we'll know if it was a derby disaster, a derby triumph or another derby demolition. I know which one I'm after. Glory, Glory!