Iain Davidson admits he is ready to see the fiery side of Gary Locke when Hibernian visit Stark’s Park this afternoon.
The Raith Rovers boss is a boyhood Hearts supporter and lived the dream by emerging through the club’s youth ranks before captaining, coaching and managing the Tynecastle outfit.
There is also a healthy contingent of former Gorgie stars in the Raith ranks, including double-Scottish Cup winner Rudi Skacel, Kevin McHattie, on-loan Liam Smith and skipper Jason Thomson.
Locke has been keen to play down the notion that today’s visit of Hibs is renewal of Edinburgh rivalries, nevertheless Davidson expects extra intensity from a man who takes great joy in getting the better of the Hibees.
Davidson said: “I’m ready to see a different side of the gaffer on Saturday!
“He has been quite light-hearted with the boys since coming in, but we all know that he is a big Hearts man and Rudi Skacel is a bit of a Hearts legend – two Scottish Cups isn’t bad.
“We’ve got Kevin in there who also played for Hearts, so I expect a bit of banter from those lads as kick-off approaches. They’ll maybe be looking to gee us up a bit more as they’ll not fancy losing to Hibs.
“I’m sure the gaffer and Rudi will get a bit of stick from the away fans but they can handle that.”
The meetings with Hibs at Stark’s Park last term – with the sides sharing two victories each – were among the highlights of Davidson’s campaign last season, and he can’t wait to renew hostilities.
He added: “We can take positivity from getting couple of really good results against them last year. We have a nucleus of the same team and, although they have changed a bit, we’ll be out to replicate those good performances.
“All the games against them last year were brilliant – great atmospheres and a real edge to the match – and hopefully we can come out on top of another occasion like that.
“It’s a massive game against the undoubted favourites for the league. That’s a brilliant test for us, while all the pressure is on them.”
