DANNY Swanson will take any abuse from Hearts supporters with a pinch of salt. After all, it was not so long ago that he would have been the one hurling verbal verbal volleys at the men in maroon. Just ask poor Scott Severin.
As a boyhood Hibernian fan, Tuesday’s mouth-watering derby will be the realisation of a life-long dream for Swanson. There is also the added spice of Swanson having endured an unhappy spell with Hearts during the 2015/16 campaign.
Reflecting on his time at Tynecastle he recently stated that he tried to engineer a move to Hibs first - before pretending to be a Jambo to get supporters onside. Those comments have assured a volatile reception from a sold out away section this week.
However, he is adamant it will be water of a duck’s back.
"I love all that stuff,” he smiled. "I don't take any of it to heart. There will be a few naughty shouts but I have heard them all before so I'm not really worried about that.
“That would have been me in the past! I shouted at Scott Severin back in the day. I used to give him dog’s abuse. I was a young tearaway and there was just something about his face! I think he got that a lot, he was just one of those players.
“But then you get to know him, you go on holiday with him and you see he is not a bad guy. Now I go round to his house for tea. He actually came to Dundee United and lived with me and Keith Watson at the digs. He used to cook for us and he was brilliant - what a guy.”
Severin was not the only man to have an impact on Swanson at Tannadice, with the gifted playmaker lavishing praise on current Hearts boss Craig Levein.
The former United boss is the person who plucked the talented but undeniably raw Swanson from part-time obscurity with Berwick Rangers in 2008 and moulded him into a fitter, focused, professional proposition.
Indeed, should Swanson turn in a composed, effective display against Hearts, much of the credit will go to Levein.
“I got sent off the first time I played against Hearts for Dundee United," Swanson said. "Before the game, Craig Levein had told me not to get too carried away and to keep my head. But I couldn't. I was just a young lad and we were getting beat and I saw the red mist.
“But Craig was very good to me, he was brilliant for my career. He would always talk to me about how to handle things because he knew how passionate I was about Hibs, and how to channel that. I have had that one bad game against Hearts but it's been alright since then.
“I still see him and talk to him. He is a great guy and he is brilliant for Scottish football. It is the best appointment Hearts could have made. He is a man who will come in and from top to bottom he will sort that club out.”
Little wonder, then, he expects a much tougher challenge than Hibs experienced when the sides last met. Swanson was in the crowd as a punter when Ian Cathro’s Hearts succumbed to a meek 3-1 defeat in the Scottish Cup at Easter Road in February - and he is desperate to enjoy a similarly electric night in Edinburgh.
“I was at the last derby and that was unbelievable. The boys stayed at the end to clap the fans and I can't remember Easter Road being like that, it was amazing.
“It will be a lot harder with Craig in charge of Hearts, 100 per cent, but I am raring to go. This is always a huge game in my family and a huge game in Leith. Everyone is talking about this game and I have always dreamed about playing in it. I always do well against Hearts, so hopefully that continues.”
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