Angry Hibs boss addresses own future with 'scared or worried' verdict after St Mirren loss

David Gray insists he’s not worrying about his own position as Hibs gaffer – because he’s too angry with his players after their worst performance of the season. Speaking after a 2-1 home defeat to St Mirren that left the Easter Road side stuck to the foot of the Scottish Premiership table, rookie head coach Gray accused his players of lacking “fight and belief” in a horrific first-half performance that saw them trail by two at the break.

Gray made three changes at the interval, then threw on another two substitutes after a missed penalty by Martin Boyle with just over an hour gone. Although substitute Nicky Cadden scored an injury-time penalty and had an even later ‘equaliser’ ruled out for offside, the manager admitted his team hadn’t done enough to earn a result.

Reflecting on an afternoon that ended with fans targeting the board for criticism and Elie Youan being escorted away from angry supporters, Gray – asked if he feared Hibs might take the ‘easy option’ of ditching the head coach in order to deflect criticism – said: “I don't think worried or scared is the right way I feel about it. I fully understand the noise and rightly so, justifiably so, because of the situation we're in, where this club is at the moment. 

CHECK OUT THE LATEST FITBAW TALK ON SHOTS TV

“We've talked a lot about it being a new squad and I could come up with 101 excuses, but where we find ourselves isn't good enough. And I know it's something I've said now for a number of weeks because of where we are.

“One thing I do know is until someone tells me differently, I'm going to try as hard as I can. I will continue to work as hard as I possibly can because no one's more frustrated than me. I also know what's in the group and what we can be.

“As I say, that 45 minutes was so unlike us, but we delivered that. So we need to bounce back as quickly as we can because the players aren't going to change between now and January, minimum. So it's about everybody working as hard as we can and sticking together to make sure we get through this period.

“But the question you've asked, I fully understand why you would ask it.”

Laying into his players for an abysmal opening 45 minutes that ended with Warren O’Hora, Nectar Triantis and Hyeokkyu Kwon all getting hooked, Gray declared: “I would say that the first half performance today was completely unacceptable from our point of view. We were miles off it.

“Not just one player. A lot of players shying away from the ball, making mistakes, not taking the ball, and then individual errors again. A lot of things that we've talked about previously.

“But also the lack of fight and belief, probably, in the first half was missing for me. They (St Mirren) definitely played as if they were a team that wanted to win the game, whereas we're a team that need the points, need to win the game. And that was definitely my frustration at half-time, which is why I obviously made a few changes to try and get back into the game.

“I thought the second half we had a bit more of a go, but it's very hard to draw on any positives today when you see the scoreline and the situation we find ourselves in after the first half performance. 

“I think it's a collective. It's everyone in it together still, obviously. But individually, you need to ask the question, are you doing enough? Are you doing enough? Are you taking enough responsibility? 

“I'm taking responsibility. I've talked about it a lot, but at the same time, whether it's me or anybody else, it ain't going to change between now and Christmas.

“There's a squad of players we've got. There's no point in feeling sorry for yourself. There's no point in hoping someone else is going to change it for us. It's up to us to turn it around as quick as we can. 

GET THE LATEST HIBS NEWS DIRECTLY TO YOUR EMAIL INBOX DAILY WITH OUR FREE NEWSLETTER SERVICE

“The first half, it's the first time I've seen it this season, really. It's the first time I've come out and apologised to the fans, which I'll do now again. Apologised for the first-half performance because I've not had to really do that.

“As much as we've been where we are in the league, there's always been a few positives to draw on. I think it's very hard to draw on any today because of the situation we find ourselves in. 

“Frustration is probably not the right word. That angers me the most, probably because of the situation we find ourselves in.”