Shaun Maloney reckons that a victory over Hearts on Saturday will change the narrative of his side's season.
The Hibernian boss has come under-fire in recent weeks after failing to secure a top six Premiership finish as a result of a lost 3-1 to their Edinburgh rivals at Tynecastle last weekend.
But they now face the Gorgie club at Hampden in the Scottish Cup semi-finals with a chance for redemption.
He said: "We can change the narrative of our season and we can change the narrative of our rivals’ season - and they know that.”
Maloney insists he has a plan in place to be victorious at Hampden and seal a spot in the final against either Celtic or Rangers who go head to head on Sunday.
"I'm also quite clear on actually how we can hurt Hearts and how we did hurt them", Maloney added.
"So from that and the work we have done this week, I've got confidence that if we are better at the things that cost us then we will give ourselves a good opportunity to win the game."
The 39-year-old also highlighted the qualities Ryan Porteous will bring to the team as he makes his return from suspension.
“For me it’s his real personality to show his best and to show the best of him in many different ways,” said Maloney.
“He has personality to go and win the game and in the last derby, his performance was as good a performance as any centre-back this season.
“He has a real desire not to get beat but also to show the best attributes he has. We need many of our players to show that this weekend and if they do that, it’ll give us a great opportunity to win this game.”
