Hibs boss ups the ante in striker search despite 'job done' verdict on Cup campaign

Miller was on target twice. | SNS Group

Hibs boss David Gray delivered a ‘job done’ verdict on his team’s Premier Sports Cup campaign, as a 4-0 home win over Peterhead saw them hold off a late goal surge from Queen’s Park to finish top of Group C – and guarantee themselves a place in the last 16. But his increasingly desperate need for a new striker was underlined on the field AND in the rookie manager’s post-match comments, with Gray admitting he’d like to see a centre forward brought in ahead of next weekend’s Scottish Premiership kick-off.

Speaking after watching Dylan Vente, the only out-and-out striker on the books at Easter Road, pass up a series of clear-cut chances against League Two opposition, Gray responded to questioning about his hopes of landing a new attacker before next Sunday’s league opener away to St Mirren by saying: "It's something I've said many times about bringing the right ones in. Obviously, I'd rather have done it three to four weeks ago; we always want to do it as quickly as we can because the earlier you can get working with the players, the better. But we also know it needs to be the right person.

“Would I like someone in before the weekend to give us strength and depth? One hundred per cent - but it's not as simple as that. There's hard work going on every single day to do that, and that's all we can do at the moment, keep working as hard as we can to bring in the right people to strengthen what we've got. It can't just be a number coming in, it has to be someone who enhances what we've already got.

"It can be frustrating for everyone involved. I understand that. That's the nature of when a transfer window is open, you'll naturally get ins and outs and it's about making sure the process is right to bring the right people in.

“That's what we need to trust in. Hopefully, we'll get it right in days rather than weeks.”

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Gray, aware that Callum Davidson’s Queen’s Park were keeping up pressure on Hibs as the battle for top spot came down to goal difference, said: “Job done. The objective was to win this game and top the group and qualify for the knock-out stages. That's exactly what the players have delivered - and I'm delighted with that.

"It was frustrating at times today. I thought we created a lot of chances and were maybe a wee bit wasteful in front of goal.

"But all in all, we kept going, limited them to very few chances and I thought it was a very professional performance.

"The chances we were creating, we just needed to be that wee bit more clinical and that's something I mentioned at half-time. The intensity and level we wanted to play at was maybe a wee bit low. The second half was much better."

Gray will be hoping that the win didn’t come at a heavy cost, with central defender Warren O’Hora limping off after just half an hour, the manager saying: "It was just an impact injury. We'll wait and see how it settles down. It was on an awkward place between the top of his hip. He thinks it's just an impact and hopefully it'll settle down in a day or so."

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Explaining why Harry McKirdy was missing from the match-day squad after scoring in the midweek friendly against Watford, Gray said: "Harry just felt ill during the night. He didn't make the squad today and I'll catch up with him after the game and see how he's feeling. Hopefully, it's just an overnight thing and he'll be feeling better in the next day or so.”