Mixu Paatelainen looked to his left and saw Franck Sauzee, to his right were Russell Latapy and John Hughes.
The former Hibs striker and manager admits he was lucky enough to be involved in a dressing room at Easter Road that was full of personality and character on and off the pitch.
As the current team look to recover from last week’s 3-1 loss at Hearts ahead of Saturday’s Scottish Cup semi-final against their rivals, the Finn is hoping there are enough leaders to drag Hibs out of their rut.
Paatelainen, who played for Hibs between 1998 and 2001 before rejoining in 2002, said: “We had a fantastic record against Hearts and every player in every position was a strong character.
“Coming into the derbies we had to believe and we did.
“Players had a big part, but that also is a manager’s job, to instil that. I’m sure that happens – I’m sure Shaun Maloney will have the team ready.
“We had big Franck who was quiet. We had Yogi Hughes who certainly wasn’t quiet and made sure that everyone knew what it was about.
“I used to shout before the derbies, ‘Let’s get ready for Jambos’ – that was my fighting call. We had many guys who made sure we were up for it.
“Some, like Russell Latapy, a great guy, would quietly state his opinion but didn’t need to be loud and slap other players – he did his talking on the pitch.
“It’s important to have that in the team but it comes from confidence. If you’re not
confident on the pitch then you’re not going to be a leader out there because you want to concentrate on your job.
“But if you know your exact job within the team then your confidence rises and you’re more able to support the others and talk.”
The return of Ryan Porteous from suspension this weekend is a big boost for Hibs and Paatelainen believes the 23-year-old will make sure that the team are psyched up for the challenge at Mount Florida.
The Finn added: “He’s a strong player, a leader, demanding – he demands from others. Whenever he plays there’s someone who whips up the players around him. You need players like that.
“It’s important when you play that there’s someone who whips up everyone else. You need leaders and he is one.
“Players develop differently. Some are young but are leaders – Scott Brown was young at Hibs but he was a leader, which I spotted early doors. Some develop that leadership later in their career.
“It’s important that players stand up for that role and you have guys who whip up the others as well as encourage and support.”
Paatelainen wrote himself into the club’s folklore with a derby hat-trick in the 6-2 win in October 2002. He added: “What’s my best memory. It has to be the 6-2, especially the way the game went for us.
“Whenever I meet Hibs fans they come up to me and start talking about the 6-2 game.
“Just beating Hearts 1-0 is enough, never mind 6-2. It’s a wonderful memory and it’s good to chat about it with the Hibs supporters.
“Myself and Franck did a dance after one of the goals. After training, and this sounds a bit dodgy, we did a dance in the showers.
“After a game when we won we were in a good move and we did something stupid like that.
“When I scored in the game Franck came to me and it was just like ‘boom’ – we did it straight away.”
Paatelainen was speaking ahead of An Afternoon with Mixu, a Q&A event in Leith on Sunday, June 5. For tickets go to www.headlineevents.online/mixu
