Hibs boss identifies key qualities as hero emerges to conquer County - and lift Gray's men off foot of table
Instant reaction as relieved boss admits real work just beginning
Relieved Hibs boss David Gray hailed the character of his players for fighting back from a goal down to lift themselves off the foot of the Scottish Premiership with a 3-1 home win over Ross County. And he said penalty hero Elie Youan had shown real “courage” to step up and score after watching team-mate Nicky Cadden denied from the spot.
Former Newcastle star Dwight Gayle scored on his first start since October, while Youan followed up his effort from 12 yards by setting up substitute Josh Campbell for a killer third in a game that went into eight minutes of time added on at the end of the 90. On a day of high drama, Gray was obviously pleased to see his team lift themselves ahead of County to eighth in the table.
“The one thing they've always been questioned about this year, and rightly so because the points we've dropped at times, was the character,” said the rookie head coach. “And Ross County threw absolutely everything at us towards the end, and I thought we stood up to it really well, defended the box really well.
“So from that point of view, we've played miles better on lost points. But the character was definitely tested, and the big thing today was the result, so I'm delighted for the players on that front.”
Revealing that he’d played no part in deciding who should take the second penalty after Cadden’s effort was stopped by former Hearts goalkeeper Jack Hamilton just moment earlier, Gray said: “I think it was just a natural thing that happens on the pitch. I think obviously Nicky had scored his last one, which is why he stepped up to take this one. And then naturally, he's obviously passed the ball when Elie wanted it.
“So if someone shows that desire to take the responsibility in the moment, I think it shows they're confident. It shows they've got the belief in themselves to step up and do it.
“Especially at such an important time of the game, especially the fact we've just missed a penalty. It does take courage to step up in the moment. So credit to Elie for that - and it was a fantastic penalty.
“Elie's always at his happiest when he's playing football. He loves nothing more than just being on the pitch and enjoying it. That's where he wants to showcase his talent, and I think today we’ve seen that at times. He was heavily involved in all the goals, moments within the game as well.
“I think as a collective, we can be better. But certainly the result was the most important thing today and credit to the players for finding a way to win the game.”
Hibs getting themselves out of the automatic relegation spot feels like a significant step for Gray, although he’s not getting carried away heading into a hectic run of fixtures starting with Aberdeen away next weekend, the former captain saying: "It's the message I've said to the players for a while, which is how quickly the narrative can change. Now, when you're at the bottom of the league, it's a difficult place to be, especially for this football club. That's underachievement by a long way.
“So we knew that, we knew we were dealing with that. We knew we were always improving throughout the period, but the league doesn't lie as well. So when we found ourselves in that position, we had to take that on the chin.
"It doesn't change much in terms of three points. It's not as if we've completed it now at all.
“There's lots of learnings to take from today, especially second half decision making at times and how we started the game, especially. But now we go into a busy period over the festive period, where psychologically it looks a lot different when you're sitting eighth on the table rather than at the very bottom looking up. I think the players can take a lot of confidence and belief in that.”