David Gray holds Hibs pre-season hope for star after injury comeback as goals aim identified

David Gray senses a full pre-season can set Josh Mulligan up for a strong second campaign at Hibs.

The midfielder shone in the first half of last campaign after joining from Dundee but an ankle injury against Dunfermline Athletic in January proved troublesome. It ruled him out until the penultimate game of the 25/26 season against Rangers, but Gray was impressed by what he brought to the Hibs victory at Ibrox, before featuring in the final day defeat against Motherwell.

Scotland recognition also came for Mulligan after being called up to Steve Clarke’s squad last October and rumours of interested parties elsewhere emerged during January. Easter Road head coach Gray insists the injury and its length took everyone by surprise but a strong schedule of fitness work ahead of Conference League qualifiers in July should see Mulligan operating at full capacity again.

How will Josh Mulligan perform at Hibs next season?

“I think you've seen that even when he came on in the final two games, what he gives you,” said the Hibs boss. “He has been a loss because of that. He’s someone who was playing very consistently well and was getting all the plaudits and rightly so, international recognition as well, with how well he was playing, which shows you the level he was performing at. So to lose him for as long as we did was a serious blow, not only that but for him on a personal level.

“He started his Hibs career so strongly and even at the time when he picked up the injury, if you'd said we thought he was going to be out for nearly four months at that point, nobody would have really thought that. It's a tough one to take for everybody, but I mentioned it the other day, him just being back in training and on the training pitch and around the boys was great. He is a real infectious character who does just give you that lift.

“I thought he was excellent when he came on against Rangers, in his first game back. It didn't look like he'd been out for the length of time he has, just with the way he plays, that energy, and you'll only benefit from playing. What he needs off the back of that is a real good pre-season and an injury-free one that can really set him up again. He'll be keen to kick on again, which is the most important thing for him.”

When it comes to areas of improvement for the former Dundee player, Gray reckons the goals and assists metric is something that can be worked on. Mulligan grabbed three goals and five assists across all competitions in 33 matches with his energetic style from midfield positions putting him in goalscoring situations. His manager believes the tools are there to unlock those moments on a regular basis.

Where can Josh Mulligan improve?

“I think there are always areas to improve, explained Gray. “I think even when you look at when you're injured and you can't train every single day, you look at the things you can be affecting, so analysing games, looking at positional stuff, and then even the physicality things in the gym. One thing you are able to look at is your upper body, making sure your full body is really strong and robust around the injury while that was healing, and he’s now done that.

“He's a real hard-working boy, but there's always room to improve, I think he'll admit that himself. When he first joined, improvement had come very early and he'll continue to improve, which is great. He has that side to the game, driving with the ball. He'll want to add more goals and assists to his game as well because he's got the legs and the running power to score more goals from midfield. He's definitely got the attributes to go and do that.”

Mulligan arrived at Hibs with somewhat of an unknown over what his best position was. He has settled into the Easter Road midfield but had played right-back, right-wing-back and right midfield alongside roles in the middle. Gray believes a ‘running eight’ role in the engine room is where he is best suited. His energy makes him a better fit to that role opposed to sitting in front of the back four or playing out wide when needed.

“I think it really depends on who you're playing against and the shape you want to play,” added Gray. “He is quite versatile, I know he's even operated at right back and right wing back. I do believe he's better in the middle of the pitch with driving the game from midfield, whether that's a double six, I don't really see him as a single six just now. As he matures and gets older, he's got probably too much power.

“He has that box-to-box engine. So just restricting him to staying in the middle of the pitch probably doesn't showcase his talent just now. So probably that sort of running 8 is what he’s capable of being. If you see a goal going in at one end, you expect to see him in the pitch, and when you concede one at the other end, you also expect to see him in that pitch as well. He's definitely got the capacity to do that and that's probably where I see him at his best at the moment.”

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