Exclusive:How Hibs can use attacking 'versatility' to break history barrier against Celtic - Gray seeks winning 'blend'
Goal on first start for teenager, Suto can’t stop scoring ... Easter Road gaffer has options for trip to Glasgow
Hibs will take a new range of attacking threats on their mission to make history at Celtic Park, according to Easter Road boss David Gray. And Gray believes the addition of THREE strikers in the January window has given him all sorts of options at the top end of the park.
No Hibs team has beaten Celtic away from home since January 2010. Gray’s men head to Glasgow on Sunday still trailing in the race for guaranteed European football – and desperately in need of points.
They’ve dramatically remodelled their front line in recent weeks, signing Spurs striker Dane Scarlett on loan as well as making permanent moves for Croatian-Australian forward Ante Suto and Sligo Rovers teenager Owen Elding. Hibs also took the decision to send £1.5 million record signing Thibault Klidje out on loan to Danish club Randers – who have an option to buy – after half a season of poor returns on their investment.
Martin Boyle still a strong option for Gray
With Martin Boyle and Elie Youan both fully fit, Gray has a handful of potential starters at his disposal. And believes that there is enough variety in their profiles to keep opponents guessing.
The former club captain, who saw Elding mark his first start with the opening goal in Saturday’s home win over St Mirren, before throwing super sub Suto on to score his second Hibs goal, said: “Yeah, there's a good blend. I think even when you see the substitutes who didn't even get on at the weekend, I think they're all very different, all offer different things.
“I’ve got flexibility within the team all over the pitch now. And that changes how we play.
“People can look at it and say it’s a front three. But is it a front two with a 10 in behind, or is it one centre forward with two others supporting the striker?
“There is versatility in what we can do. And that is so important in Scotland, where you can face multiple different challenges in the space of one game.
“So looking at the forward players we have now, Dane is the one player who is more of a number nine, if you look. He can hold the middle of the pitch and more of a focal point at times; he's the one that sometimes makes bad balls good balls.
“Then you've got Ante, he's quite similar in terms of his strength and ability to hold the ball in. But he can play across the front three, if you like, and he’s already scoring goals.
“Then with Elie and Boyle, you know what they give you because they’ve been here a long time. We know exactly how dangerous they can be.
“And then you’ve got a young lad like Owen, who is a physical threat, as well as someone who can run. He offers a few different things – and he’ll benefit from scoring his goal at the weekend.
“So, as I say, there is a real good blend. We can start the game one way, we can change it completely with a substitute or two at different times of the game – if we think that’s required. That’s a really good position to be in, as a coaching staff.
“The biggest challenge now is keeping them all healthy and competing for game time. Competition is always a good thing as well so that can only drive the standards moving forward.”
Goal scorer kept in dark about first start until game day
Elding, who had been kept on the bench for the previous two games, made an impressive impact on his full league debut. And the 19-year-old revealed afterwards that he’d only been told of his starting selection a couple of hours before kick-off.
Explaining his thinking behind NOT giving the youngster an earlier heads-up on his place in the first XI, Gray admitted: “It was something I did speak about on the Friday with the staff: ‘Do I tell him now, do I make him think about it all night?’ It’s easy to say it now when it works out!
“But I just wanted it to be more fresh for him on the day. As I say, it’s easy when you look back after a win and say: ‘It worked. Good.’
“I think the most important thing was how he reacted. I'm delighted for him.
“He's someone that I'm really impressed with, and he's had to be patient. But he always brings that energy and quality that you've seen at times.
“He's only going to get better because there's no way I would put too much pressure on him. He's just a young boy with loads to learn still.
“But he wants to learn, he wants to do the right things and he's certainly brought that energy to his first start right from the very first minute. I thought that was always going to be important
“I thought the atmosphere in the stadium could potentially be a bit flat after Tuesday night, which is normal. And somebody like Owen, the energy that he's going to bring to the game naturally would have been his first start, desperate to impress. So it's certainly worked out from that point of view.”
Late arrivals making up for lost time
Hibs didn’t make their first January signing until four days from the window closing. And three of the half-dozen arrivals didn’t sign on until Deadline Day.
Gray, making up for lost time with his new arrivals on the training ground over the past fortnight, said: “I think the biggest thing is they get a wee bit more of an understanding of exactly how we work and what we work on. I think that only comes from time together, it only comes from working on it on the training pitch.
“Some of them were certainly thrown in straight away, some of them within 24 hours of being in the building. Players that have had to come in, they've had to kind of hit the ground running because of injuries, because of circumstances.
“And when you do a business as late as we did at times, that’s a factor. Ideally you want to do it the first week of the window, but it never ever works like that because you always want to make sure you do get the right type of people, the right players in the building.
“They've certainly added to the squad, which is great - and they've had to step up quickly. I know some of them are younger but they've had to do that.
“And I've certainly seen that in training as well, they've added to the group. They can take a lot of confidence and continue in the season to make sure we finish strong.”