Friendships are often brushed aside on a football pitch and during this afternoon's Premiership play-off quarter-final, it will be no different.

Hibs pair Jamie Gullan and Fraser Murray have been pals since linking up with the Leith outfit's under-17s squad. They've remained mates all the way through the 20s, too, but will have to park it when Dunfermline make the trip to Raith Rovers in the second-leg of the crunch meeting.

With the tie on a knife-edge following the goalless first-leg last time out, this weekend calls for complete focus. And while the duo have become inseparable over the years, it's down to business for both who are desperate to nail down a semi-spot - as well as the bragging rights for the foreseeable future.

"It feels strange being on different teams," Gullan told Herald and Times Sport. "But when I went to Raith at that time it was looking like ourselves and Dunfermline were gonna be in the play-offs if we just kept up our form. It was good that we were both getting important games under our belt at the right end of the table.

"I don't think anyone expected (Raith) to be up this end of the table competing with the bigger teams. We've beaten Dunfermline, Dundee and Hearts this season so we've shown that we can compete with them for not being the biggest club ourselves. It's good playing against those teams as well because you learn a lot more than maybe playing against people younger than you and in the reserves.

"For both of us it's been a great learning experience and it'll stand us in good stead for going back to Hibs in the summer."

Murray was in agreement. He said: "I've loved it here at Dunfermline. I came at a good time and it's a good place to be, we've got a good group. Everything is to a high standard and I can't really speak highly enough of it here. We've played some big games, derby games and games against Hearts and we're fighting it at the top end of the table and trying to stay there.

"I went on loan first and I knew going there, there might be a good chance that we'd be in this position come the end of the season. To reach the play-offs is good but to play against each other, like Jamie said, is a bit weird."

The pair are so close we had our 15 minute interview over a conference call. But both are absolutely clear in their message that it will not be an old pal's act this weekend. Both want to win, both want to play at the highest level. Ideally, of course, both would like to do it together at Hibs next season, but should they be required to do so with their current loan clubs, neither would be too unhappy.

Murray said: "We've played with each other for so long so to come up against each other is a bit strange as it's not what you're used to. But I'll tell my teammates what (Jamie) plays like and how to stop him, but sometimes you can't!

"We support each other but when it comes to playing against each other we both want to win."

Laughing along, Gullan responded: "Yeah, we've got that relationship where we back each other. When we were at Hibs we do the gym together, we always push each other along but when you are up against each other you have to forget about everything like that."

Gullan, on loan at Rovers, has scored four goals in 15 appearances since heading to Kirkcaldy in January while Murray has bagged six goals in 30 showings for the Pars throughout a very decent season in the Championship.

They have came up against each other before in the league, of course, with Murray bagging a brace in the first fixture and then, like a mirror image, Gullan netting two in the second match.

And Gullan joked: "The first game Fraser scored two and then the second game I scored two. That was good for both of us that we've done well against each other. It's just a bit weird being in opposite teams.

"I needed a big performance in the next derby after he scored two or I'd never have heard the end of it. That shut him up for a few weeks."