Revealed: Hibs captain's role and unsung heroes behind comeback for the ages as gaffer Gray pays tribute
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‘I never felt like I lost them,’ says manager as he hails dressing room culture
Hibs boss David Gray believes crocked captain Joe Newell and the unsung heroes of his backroom staff all deserve credit for creating the strongest winning culture he’s known in a decade of service with the Easter Road club. And the former skipper, who dragged Hibs from the foot of the Scottish Premiership to a third place finish in a season of extremes, insists he never felt like he’d “lost” the dressing room as he endured a torrid start to his first taste of management.
Gray, who returned to the familiar role of interim boss following Nick Montgomery’s sacking late last season, was handed the reins on a more permanent footing in the summer. He ended the campaign with European football secured – and was shortlisted for both the PFA Scotland and Scottish Football Writers Manager or the Year awards.
All of those achievements seemed unlikely as Hibs won just one of their opening 14 league games. But a 17-game unbeaten run in Scotland’s top flight, equalling a club record dating back to the Famous Five era, saw Gray’s men mount a furious comeback that ended with them claiming the Best of the Rest honour behind the country’s established big two.
Midfielder Joe Newell ‘held it all together’ during crisis
Explaining some of the factors that went into that turnaround, Gray singled out central midfielder Newell, who hasn’t featured since late December because of two groin/hernia operations, the gaffer declaring: “I've been here for 10 years, and the culture is as good as I've seen it, in terms of the togetherness in the group here.
“And that goes down to Joe Newell as club captain and what he does. He's not been someone that's performed on the pitch as much as he would like, but he's certainly held it all together off the pitch during the difficult times. And then players who have really had to step up this season, they’ve certainly done that during difficult times.”
Manager can be ‘crabbit’ because assistants deal with players
Explaining the importance of assistants Liam Craig and Eddie May, as well as goalkeeping coach Craig Samson, in coping with that brutal start to the campaign, Gray said: "They were very consistent. It's something that, knowing when I brought them to the football club, what they would be like.
“Especially Sammy, the goalie coach. If he was quiet, then we know we've got a problem.
“He's the complete same every single day, win, lose or draw, which is really good. Sometimes he can be a bit frustrating!
“But it's really good because he's very consistent with that. He's very to the point.
“So the players, if they're feeling sorry for themselves, he'll put it on them straight away. Come on, what's wrong with you? It's only a game of football or it's only one result or whatever it might be. So he's very good from that point of view.
“And it allows me probably to be a bit more crabbit knowing that they can get round about the players and make sure everyone's OK. Because a lot of the issues that maybe will happen in a dressing room, it's natural, it happens every single day. There's things that go on.
“Very rarely does it come to my door because my coaching staff will nip it in the bud, which is brilliant. So it is a real collective effort all the time and I'm very lucky to have staff that all pull in the same direction. Every single one of them has been a massive benefit to me this season.”
Sitting in the auditorium used for analysis and planning sessions with players at the Hibernian Training Centre, Gray said there was no single incident that convinced him he was still on the right track even while results pushed his team into the relegation zone, explaining: "Maybe not directly that one moment.
“One thing that I think me and Liam were talking about a lot was ... he kept saying to me during the run, especially at the start when it was poor: 'We're not far away'. That's the words he kept saying to me all the time.
“I was like: ‘That doesn't help!'. He just kept saying: ‘We're not far away, honestly, we're not far away from being a good side.’ Aye, I know, I know.
“But, genuinely, I think it's every day in training. When I was watching them in training and I was feeling like everything I'm asking them to do, the belief was there, they were doing it, they were all sticking by it.
“I'm coming in here and demonstrating, showing things on the screen, having meetings, post-match meetings. And, as I say, I never ever felt like I lost the buy-in. And that was something that was huge.
“And, again, that comes back to the characters that are in your group, who all want to be successful. And the environment that we've created here, the culture in the building.”