Lee Johnson admits he and Robbie Neilson have already started the Hibs-Hearts mind games - and dubbed it the ‘Curly Toe v Cuban Heel Derby’.
The new Easter Road boss is a former team mate of his Jambos counterpart after a short spell at Tynecastle 16 years ago.
And while he poked fun at his own height when he revealed Neilson’s nickname for him, Johnson insists he’ll be doing everything in his power to cut Hearts down to size when the whistle blows on the new campaign.
The 40-year-old has promised to attack the Jambos with aggression even if it means the odd pasting - but insists it will bring more victories than defeats.
Hibs finished 16 points behind their rivals who romped to third place last season.
And Johnson said: “The derby was one of the big draws for me. It was the biggest and most passionate derby I ever played in.
“Robbie Neilson is a great mate of mine, I have to be honest.
“I sent him a message saying ‘I’m coming for you curly toe’. Robbie’s ‘curly toe’ came from his passing quality. He’d miss the first centre forward, it would go to the second centre forward then curl out of play!
“He replied saying he was really looking forward to this derby. He said it’s going to be the Curly Toe v Cuban Heel derby .. I’m obviously not the tallest of managers!
“So we already have that little bit of ‘spirit’ to win going between us if you like.
“It’s a big game and I love big games. I expect players to bring their best out in those games.
“We will be front foot, we won’t sit back, we will be aggressive in those games.
“We might get the odd pasting every now and again where we get it wrong but I think we will win more than we lose with that attitude.”
One competitor Johnson can’t wait to manage is Ryan Porteous, a player he sees as key to his Leith master plan.
The defender is out of contract next summer and has stalled on agreeing terms on a new deal.
But Johnson says the 23-year-old is pivotal to how he wants to play - so long as he tempers his aggression.
He said: “Ryan is a tough player, a competitor. He has some voice for a 23-year-old.
“It steps into over-aggressive at times but we want to give a player like that total clarity for when he can go and be aggressive.
"If there's a straight ball into a centre-forward I'm happy for him to go and shut it down 15-20 yards. It's those bits of clarity that the players need to make bold decisions.
"I want to try to remove the element of fear and blame by giving them that clarity.
"Ryan also has on-the-ball attributes. I want my centre-halves to be able to carry the ball out and attack the space, and therefore you have a constant threat and waves of attacks going in at opponents.
”That's what we're trying to achieve; making sure that we have that numeracy in the right places as we try to score goals.”
Johnson is only two weeks into the job but his due diligence meant he has been keeping an eye on the team first hand for over a month.
As far back as the defeat at Livingston on April 30 he was in the stands for a watching brief - even if he was almost flushed out by the Livi Ultras.
Speaking to a collection of Hibs supporter podcasts, Johnson revealed: “In the Livingston game I was thinking I was fine, all chilled with nobody near me, then all of a sudden the Livingston ultras arrived and sat all around me.
“I couldn’t get out because I didn’t want to be seen. Livingston won the game and when they scored I was being smoked out by the yellow and black flares. I thought .. if anyone sees me celebrate Livi’s goal then it was only because I didn’t want beaten up by a gang of Livi youths!
“But they were a good bunch and it was a good vibe.”
