Hibs deserve 'Best of the Rest' honour - and Gray's comeback kings have seven games to prove it to everyone

The mere suggestion would have provoked ridicule not so very long ago. And the final seven rounds of Scottish Premiership action may yet bestow the honour upon some other plucky contender.

But right now, based on all available evidence, Hibs are the third best team in Scotland. That’s a prize worth pursuing. And David Gray leading his team to the much-desired ‘Best of the Rest’ title would automatically make him a contender for Manager of the Year.

Too soon? Of course it is. Scottish football makes the quantum realm look particularly logical when it comes to the business of predictions; with so many variables in the post-split fixture card, all four teams trailing the Old Firm will fancy their chances of finishing ‘top’ in this extremely unofficial mini league.

But look at the data. Despite going out of the Scottish Cup at Celtic Park, Gray’s men have now put together a FIFTEEN-game unbeaten run in the league. Including a win over Brendan Rodgers’ reigning champions and a draw against Rangers; they have no reason to fear next weekend’s trip to Ibrox, whatever the history books may say.

And, if winning your home games is a virtual must for any team wishing to secure European football – possibly even guaranteed group stage European football – via the league table, Hibs can draw further confidence from their record at Easter Road. They’ve now won six on the bounce in front of their home fans, in all competitions.

Socceroos forward has already equalled best-ever goals tally for Easter Road side

Yes, like 11 out of the 12 teams in this league, they’re prone to the odd off day. Dropped points are a fact of life. But they’re making a habit of winning the games they should win. Yesterday’s oh-so-easy 3-0 stuffing of St Johnstone being a case in point.

With Martin Boyle sitting on 15 goals, already matching best single-season return in a decade – give or take his brief spell in Saudi – with the club, and Kieron Bowie coming off the bench to score again, they’ve clearly got the firepower needed to win games. And, although he can occasionally seem like a laugh riot to supporters who love his adventurous charges into enemy territory, Rocky Bushiri is proving himself extremely good at the serious business of defending – he’s the line leader in that back three – as Hibs fine tune the art of collecting clean sheets.

That fact that neither Boyle nor Bushiri may be lining up in green-and-white next year, with the Socceroos striker likely to fall into the welcoming arms of an A-League franchise and the DRC centre-half expecting offers from more lucrative markets, may add a certain poignancy to their current efforts. But the fact that both are clearly in demand says plenty about how they’ve been performing for Hibs.

Club captain still to return alongside Sunderland loanee

The strength in depth now available to Gray is also underlined by the acceptance that, even when he recovers from a frustrating spell out injured, club captain Joe Newell is no stick-on to return to this starting XI. OK, so he probably will be back to partner Sunderland loan star Nectar Triantis in midfield. But Dylan Levitt, Nathan Moriah-Welsh and even January signing Alasana Manneh will provide stiff competition.

Having put themselves in an almighty hole with a disastrous start to the season, Hibs also have momentum on their side. It’s an asset that nearest rivals Aberdeen are beginning to regain themselves, after their mad mid-season collapse.

Gray, well aware that the Dons beat Motherwell 4-1 to stay just a point behind his side yesterday, believes the race for third will go right to the wire, saying: “Pretty much. All we can do is take care of ourselves.

“When you look at what the task was before the game, that's top six secured now. That's that done. Ticked off with two games to go, which is brilliant.

“That's not happened at this club for a few years now. So, that's the first achievement. That's what you set out at the start of every season. Make sure you're in the top six. So, that's done. We've put ourselves in a fantastic position.

“I've said to the players before the game, in my pre-match comments, about changing the narrative in terms of the mindset. We can't catch the team in front now. So, what is it? A case of how do you stay there?

“The only way we can stay there now is to keep winning games of football. If we keep winning, nobody can catch us. So, that's the focus.

“We've got a real good game to look forward to now at Ibrox. It'll be a difficult game, clearly. But we're in a really good run of form.

“That's 15 games undefeated in the league. It's an incredible achievement. So, we're going into the game in a real good place - and we'll be going there with a game plan to make sure we try and win the game.”

‘It’s all about momentum’

When the impressive run of home wins was pointed out to Gray, the manager laughed as he said: “I’m glad you’re up on the stats, because there’s so many flying about at the minute! It's all about that momentum and that feeling.

“I think even when you think about how the game was against St Johnstone. The crowd's right behind us, right from the start.

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“The connection between the players and the fans has been growing massively on this run, clearly. Some of the occasions we've had in the last three or four weeks, that that week where we picked up nine points, winning the two home games here, we could see it starting to build.

“It's been a few weeks since we've been here at home. But, coming back, the pitch is getting better all the time as well, this time of year, which is going to help us as well.

“So, everything's geared up for a strong finish. We've given ourselves the best possible opportunity, which is all we can ask for at this stage.”

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