Hibs chasing 'bonus points' in Euro scrap as triple Manager of the Month winner Gray targets Rangers at Ibrox

Treble Manager of the Month winner David Gray has urged his Hibs players to claim “bonus points” in the contest to qualify for European football – by bagging a statement win at Ibrox tomorrow. With Hibs on a 15-game unbeaten run in the Scottish Premiership, they travel west to take on second-placed Rangers in an upbeat mood.

First-year gaffer Gray, who picked up March MOTM honours to go with his awards in February and December, accepts that rivals in the battle to claim third spot won’t expect his team to bag a first victory at Ibrox since 2018. He’s under no illusions about the importance of taking anything from a tough weekend assignment.

"Yeah, it would be huge,” he said, adding: “It would be huge because it is such a difficult place to go, there's not many teams that go there and win.

“It could be seen as sort of bonus points by other teams. But I think the way we look at it is, obviously we're third now, so teams are now chasing us.

"That was something I talked about two or three weeks ago, about having to change the narrative of the group. If you win games, nobody can catch you.

“I think the form we're in at the minute, the feeling around the group at the moment is that everyone's just desperate to try and keep that run going. There's going to be twists and turns between now and the end of the season because it's so tight, every single team's got something to play for, and there's only two games before that split, so I think there'll be, you know, results all over, up and downs.”

Changing history in positive ways - and nailing down European football

Reflecting on being name Scottish Premiership Manager of the Month for the second month running, Gray said: “It's very nice for all the positive reasons that come with that. But it's very much a reflection again on all the effort of the players, the staff, everyone pulling in the same direction. From where we were to where we are now, the run we've been on, it's brilliant to put that run together.

“Changing history in positive ways is something I talk a lot about. And I think we've demonstrated a lot of that this season.

"It's worked well for us. And we've got a really good opportunity to try and do it this weekend, as well. It's also been a long time a Hibs teams won at Ibrox in the league, I think it was 2018, so that's a challenge to the players - can we go and do that?"

With home and away derby wins already on his managerial CV and a home victory over Celtic in the books, Gray – who endured a nightmare start to his career as boss, with Hibs sitting bottom of the table in early December – hasn’t been short of big moments in his brief spell as a gaffer. Beating one of Scotland’s big two on their own patch would, he admits, be “right up there, right at the very top.”

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