When Hibs appointed Marink Reedijk just over a month ago, there weren’t many people within Scottish football who could claim to know much about the Dutchman.Especially among the Hibs support, the response was one largely of bemusement as to why the club had taken a gamble on a 34-year-old rookie whose only previous experience was in the Belgian second tier.At Beveren, Reedijk carved a reputation for himself as a coach who played high-octane attacking football as his side finished last season unbeaten as champions, duly winning promotion to the top flight.It was an achievement and a style of play which was sufficiently impressive enough to alert the data boffins at Jamestown Analytics.Back in the summer, Reedijk’s name had actually been on Hearts’ radar before they eventually chose to appoint Wouter Vrancken instead.There was never any formal approach, but Hearts and Jamestown were aware of his name and his reputation as a young coach of considerable promise.Whether or not Reedijk’s style of play could translate to the SPFL Premiership was a topic of much intrigue when he arrived to replace the sacked David Gray. Reus denies Martin Boyle back in September’s Edinburgh derby meetingIt is fair to say he has made something of an inauspicious start. In beginning his reign with defeats to Dundee United, Falkirk and Celtic, he became the first Hibs boss since Pat Fenlon to lose his opening three games.He finally arrested that sequence courtesy of a 1-1 draw against St Mirren in midweek, but Hibs remain mired in relegation trouble.Now comes the small matter of an Edinburgh derby against Hearts, with the rivals set to clash at Hampden this afternoon in the semi-finals of the Premier Sports Cup.Reedijk desperately needs a victory to finally ignite his reign, with many Hibs fans already questioning whether this is a gamble that may backfire.In the 2-1 defeat to Celtic last weekend, Hibs finished the match with Grant Hanley playing up front for the final ten minutes. It was an act of desperation and one which would see Reedijk take a lot of criticism.Yet, although Reedijk is struggling to convince so far, there’s a man behind enemy lines who will happily sing his praises. Reedijk picked up his first point as Hibs boss in the midweek draw at St MirrenHearts goalkeeper Beau Reus played under Reedijk for two years at Beveren. Reus insists he would be happy to go out on a limb and vouch that his old boss is a top-class operator.As is always the way in football, friends can be found in unlikely places. Prior to a Hampden derby showdown, Reus opened up on his relationship with his fellow Dutchman during their time in Belgium.‘We were together in Belgium the last two years,’ said the Hearts keeper, who has been excellent since making the switch to Tynecastle. ‘For me, he’s a good manager. His gameplan is really clear.‘Hopefully that helps us a bit to crack the code. I will have a meeting with our coach to tell him how he will play, probably!‘But Marink is very adaptable. He’s a young coach. I know he will have some tricks up his sleeve.‘We are both Dutch and, as always, if you are a guy from an outside country that plays in Belgium, it’s normal you have a certain connection. He helped me grow a lot.‘He’s really straight, so if he has a plan, he will go to implement his plan as well as he can. Off the pitch he’s a really, really nice guy, really warm. But, yeah, as soon as you’re on the pitch with him, you know exactly what you have to do for him. He makes very clear.‘We are very kind to each other, but I think on Sunday we will forget about it for 90 minutes. After that, we can shake hands again.‘I knew there were rumours that he was coming to Hibs, so the day I left for the last international break, I flew back to Amsterdam and his plane was just landing.‘I said to my girlfriend it’s unbelievable that I come across him again in this way. But in football it is always like this, you will see each other many times.’ Reus is impressing for Hearts, with his shootout heroics securing a Conference League spotHearts come into the semi-final on the back of a 2-2 draw against Rangers at Tynecastle on Wednesday night, a match in which they were the better side for large spells.Vrancken’s men are battling through an injury crisis which currently sees eight first-team regulars out of action.‘It is devastating when you see so many injuries,’ noted Reus. ‘But we will play with the players we have and give 100 per cent for sure.’It promises to be a thriller in Mount Florida as Reedijk’s Hibs go up against Vrancken’s Hearts. Two coaches renowned for front-foot attacking football, it’ll be anything but dull.Reus insists it would be a major sign of the continued progress being made at Hearts if they can reach the final.‘I don’t know the numbers off the top of my head, but the last time the club won this competition was quite some time ago,’ he said. ‘So it’s massive.‘And of course, it’s always great to play for cups, playing in tournaments, because you don’t win that many trophies in your career, so every chance is one.‘The fact it is a derby is great. We have already played Hibs before this season and beaten them at Easter Road.‘You see how much tension and how much build-up there was to the game. Also in the stadium, how much they hated us! So, if you win, it’s extra nice.‘It is another massive game and we really want to bounce back from the disappointment of losing the late goal against Rangers in midweek.’