Hibs a changed side - under a much-improved manager - two years on from Villa Park Euro play-off drubbing
David Gray on what he was REALLY thinking at 5-0 down as interim boss ...
Another big European play-off, another away day for Hibs and David Gray. But any honest comparisons between Thursday night’s UEFA Conference League clash with Legia Warsaw and their previous venture this far into the competition don’t really stack up.
“You really want me to tell you what I was thinking?” asked Gray, the manager grinning as he recalled his stint as interim boss plunging him into a Battle of Britain tie that was already over after the first leg in Edinburgh and saying: “I was five-nil down going to Villa Park, thinking: ‘Oh no …’”
As everyone knows, Lee Johnson was sacked by Hibs in between the first leg at Easter Road – a five-goal gubbing – and the trip to Birmingham, where stand-in coach Gray at least managed to keep things respectable, a 3-0 loss being more memorable for the atmosphere on the night than anything else. Hibs fans being applauded out of Villa Park by the home crowd after the game tells you everything you need to know about the travelling support on the night.
Backroom coach pitched into interim role
Gray, who was getting used to stepping into the hot seat by the time Johnson was axed, remembers a learning experience as he pitted his team against the talents – John McGinn being just one of them – available to Unai Emery on the night. Gray, appointed as caretaker after a domestic loss to Livi and asked to tackle both the Villa game AND the following weekend’s trip to Pittodrie, where he carved out a 2-0 win over Aberdeen, has fond memories of that short stint in charge.
He said: “Actually, when you think about that, going into that scenario, because of the situation I found myself in, you just adapt and you just go, right, I need to ... I actually started with the Aberdeen game. So we had Aberdeen at the weekend. I started with my team for Aberdeen, not disregarding the European game.
“Because it's an unbelievable occasion and atmosphere and everything else. And the players fully deserved their day at Villa Park. And the fans did as well for everything we'd done. But the reality of the situation was we were five-nil down.
“So to go there and win 6-0 at Villa Park, I don't think was going to happen! So I worked back the way and I sort of composed myself for there. But still obviously wanted to make sure the players still got the opportunity to go to Villa Park.
“So there were some players you maybe think, well, I'd quite like to rest him for Aberdeen, but actually he's played every minute of every game and the opportunity to go to Villa Park, you can't really deny opportunity. So that was a slightly different environment.”
Easter Road side trailing 2-1 to Legia Warsaw in UEFA Conference League
Trailing 2-1 from last week’s home loss, Hibs head to the Polish capital feeling emboldened by Josh Mulligan’s late lifeline goal. They’re still outsiders. But hardly a lost cause.
“I think this one is very different because of the scoring and also how tight the game at Easter Road last week was, and the fact that our closing spell was very good,” said Gray. “I think there's still things we can massively improve on, big moments in games, being clinical in certain situations. And then probably the timing of our goals, the goal we conceded just before half-time, the timing of that one was probably a bit of a sucker punch to the players, having played so well in the game.
“But I think the lessons within that, if you're playing as well as you are, especially at this level, you really need to capitalise on it. Because there will be periods in the game where they're going to have chances, because they've got quality, they've got players in there that can really hurt you.
“You can't just dominate games for 90 minutes. So you need to be ready to withstand that sort of pressure, but also be clinical at the other end. And we're certainly going to have to be much more clinical because you might not get as many chances.
“We had four or five really clear-cut chances, in my opinion. In the second leg, you might only get two. And if we only get two, we need to take them both. But we might get more, you never know.”
Gaffer served as assistant to series of managers
Gray’s been in full charge of the first team for just over a year now, having served on the coaching staff for Jack Ross, Shaun Maloney, Johnson and Nick Montgomery before being handed control last summer. It was always a dream to return to European competition as a Hibs boss with a more realistic chance of progressing, the young coach who stood on the touchline at Villa Park back on the last night of August of 2023 didn’t feel ready for the step up. Not yet, anyway.
“I probably go back to the very first conversation I had with Jack Ross, right at the very start, when I still had time on my contract,” said the former club captain. “I was still physically able to play - or technically able to play.
“And I hadn't thought my last game at Easter Road was my last game. I didn't think that when I was going into the game. Even after the game, I didn't think: ‘Right, that’s me played my last game here.’
“But I've always had the wee thing in the back of my mind about coaching and management and what I thought I wanted to do after football. So when the opportunity was presented by Jack, it was probably always with this in mind longer term.
“I didn’t think the interim chances would come as early as they did, especially with Jack leaving when he did. I didn’t expect to be put in that position because of the level of experience I had and everything else.
“But I was asked to do a job and you get a taste of it then, then you get a taste of it again shortly after with Shaun leaving. And I think the whole time, as I've said many times, I don’t believe I was ready until the time I did actually apply for the job.
“So I think the whole time you're doing it, you're building up that experience and I was learning all the time. And I think that's something I've tried to do even now still.
“I still look over it, I still think about the decisions I've made, I still watch other managers, even at the side of the the pitch and what they're doing and different things within that.
“And then I think when you're watching games back, do you miss things? You don't see everything all the time. As a staff, have we seen enough things?
“Because we always need to keep improving. And I think that's something that as my time’s went on, I've learnt a lot from a lot of really good coaches, a lot of good head coaches initially, because of the way they want to play, and you adapt and you adapt to what they're asking you to do, but also the coaches they bring with them. And I think the whole time you're just moulding what you believe the right way to work is, and how you get the best out of the group you've got.
“Because I think that's another thing that's all well and good, having a philosophy and a style, by you very much need to be flexible with what you've got, the best out of the resources you've got available to you.”