Danny Wilson, the Hearts captain, is aiming to go from agony to ecstasy in the Edinburgh derby after revealing that his last outing against Hibs left him in too much pain to celebrate Alim Ozturk's unforgettable equaliser.

The 23-year-old defied the doctors to line up against Hibs at Easter Road on October 26 despite having failed to fully recover from a hamstring strain.

He was forced to limp off after just 58 minutes and concedes that he put his own desire to play before the good of the team - something he is adamant will never happen again. Wilson explained that he aggravated his injury to such an extent that he was unable even stand up when Ozturk rescued a 1-1 draw with his 40-yard thunderbolt well into injury time.

The Scotland international recalled: "When Alim scored, I was sat on the bench - and I couldn't really stand up to celebrate. I did try. I was, like everybody else, sitting on the bench thinking: 'Don't do it, don't shoot . . . ' But he will always be a hero for that goal.

"It was a bittersweet day. I was touch and go before the start of the game. But the boys deserved great credit, going down to ten men and then Alim scoring that great goal. I was delighted for the boys who got the point, but you never want to go off and I was gutted to be missing a few weeks after it.

"It will make me appreciate going into this one fully ready. I wasn't right to play in that derby and I've learned from that. I understand that it's more important for the team to come first, not myself. I will never put the team in that position again."

Hearts brought in the bells as the only club in British senior football to boast an unbeaten league record and currently lead the Championship by a whopping 15 points.

It is a remarkable feat, given the trials and tribulations of 2014, which saw the club relegated from the top flight for the first time in 32 years and go to the brink of extinction.

And, having endured traumatic lows of last year, Wilson insists the whole squad are lapping up the heady highs as Hearts kick off 2015.

He continued: "It's been a strange year - a year of two halves, to use a football analogy. We had a lot to deal with last season but everything has come good in this half of the year. We're all just looking forward to 2015 and hoping to kick on the way we've been going.

"I think you do appreciate the good times more for having been through the bad. When we were going through the bad times, I don't think many of us were thinking: 'Oh well, it's going to come good at some stage.' But, looking back, I probably think that it has helped a lot of the boys and given them a grounding in the team.

"It's good to feel that we've come through it stronger. Going back to the relegation time, I don't think we could have imagined ending the year in any better shape."

Coming off the back of a 4-0 demolition of Rangers, Hibs are likely to provide a stern test to the imperious Jambos' unbeaten league record, having pieced together an impressive run of six wins in their last seven outings.

While desperate to get one over their capital foes today, Wilson conceded that the city would feel the benefit of a battle between the sides at the summit of the Championship.

He added: "I think it is good for the city. They had a slow start and took a wee while to get themselves going after the summer but now they are a good team who play football the right way. I think it's better when both teams are competing at the right end of the table."