Exclusive:Hibs plan more contract extension news as gaffer Gray lays down Euro challenge to players

Hibs expect to negotiate more contract extensions to follow goalkeeper Jordan Smith’s new deal as David Gray looks to get an early start on planning for NEXT season. And the Easter Road boss believes qualifying for European football via a strong league finish would not only boost finances - but could persuade some of the biggest out-of-contract stars to stay with the Edinburgh club.

Former Nottingham Forest goalie Smith, a summer signing originally brought in as a back-up to Josef Bursik, put pen to paper on a new contract – running all the way until 2028 – over the weekend. A whole swathe of first team regulars, including Rocky Bushiri, stand-in captain Martin Boyle, Lewis Miller, Chris Cadden and others, are all in the final few months of their existing deals.

Asked if he expect there to be more news on the contract front over the coming weeks, Gray said: “I think there will be. There are talks going on at the moment. There's positive talks going on at the moment as well. It's something that, I know I say it all the time, but we never stop trying to do that.”

Europa Conference League guarantee

With Hibs currently sitting third in the Scottish Premiership and chasing the prospect of returning to UEFA competition next season, with guaranteed Europa Conference league group stage one of the potential prizes up for grabs, Gray hopes some of his key men will see the value – beyond financial – in securing that status, saying: “One hundred per cent, being successful can make a difference to those talks. Thinking back as an ex-player thinking when I signed, when you sign for Hibs or a club like Hibs it's a genuine ambition and a possibility to go and play in Europe.

“Players moving south, for instance, unless you play in the Premier League in England from Scotland you're not going to be playing in Europe. But you can do it here.

“That's an experience that I've been lucky enough to have, and it's fantastic to add that to your CV to play against different teams from all over Europe. It's just a different way of playing, a different challenge, and I think that's something that when you look back on your career to be able to say you've done that is brilliant.

“Even if you can finish your season strongly, so if we can go and finish third for example, then you then became the best of the rest in that season. That’s a really strong achievement.

“That can only be a good thing for you as an individual whatever your motivation is, whether that's to stay at the club or move on. It could be a new contract; being successful and qualifying for Europe gives you the best possible chance of realising those ambitions.”

Transfer business done early

Insisting he would love to see more business done quickly, Gray explained: “The ideal scenario for me personally would be, can you get as much business done as early as possible knowing that when you come back at the start of the season, you're not the same as this season where there was a big turnover of players. You want to be doing it all as early as you can so you're working with the players as early as you can.

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“If it's new players coming in or whatever, you know who you're working with, and you know who you need to strengthen. Obviously, you can't always, that's an ideal world. But the work never stops.”

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