Exclusive:Why Hibs No. 1 Rafa believes squad have key quality to bounce back from Gray sacking amid 'third place' claim
Sacked gaffer’s first season miracle still an inspiration
The new Hibs manager will arrive to find a squad boasting one of the most important qualities needed to turn their season around, according to senior team figure Raphael Sallinger. And the goalkeeper believes the Easter Road side should set their sights high – by looking to repeat the remarkable turnaround that saw axed boss David Gray drag his team from bottom of the table to a third-place finish in his first season at the helm.
The search for Gray’s successor is continuing ahead of the team heading off on a mid-season training break to Spain on Saturday. Hibs parted ways with the manager, who had been in charge for just over two years, last Wednesday – just hours after his team had suffered their sixth consecutive home league defeat.
Dons draw eases pressure on players - just
They managed to avoid suffering a record-breaking seventh home loss against Aberdeen on Saturday, with interim boss John Potter guiding them to a 1-1 draw. The stand-in gaffer said he hoped the club would have a new man in charge ahead of the warm-weather training break.
Sallinger, who saw goalkeeping coach and mentor Craig Samson depart along with Gray and assistant Liam Craig, believes his former boss was right when he repeatedly talked about a lack of factions and cliques in a dressing room under pressure. Because it’s something the Austrian noticed from the moment he joined the club last summer.
“I think in my entire career, all the years I have played, I’ve never been at a football club where the togetherness is so strong,” he said. “Honestly.
“The dressing room is stocked with great footballers, talented footballers. But also great human beings.
“So I think lack of togetherness is not an issue. Everyone knows that.
“But the ambitions for this football club are big, of course. We know it’s quite early in the season still – but we believe we can turn it around as soon as we can.”
Scottish Premiership ambitions outlined
Sallinger arrived ahead of Gray’s second season at the helm, with the inexperienced manager having already been through a baptism of fire in his first campaign as head coach. Hibs famously went from the foot of the table in December to finishing third – securing a return to European football in the process – with a game to spare.
Referencing that miraculous comeback when asked whether the change of manager after seven rounds of league action should force Hibs to lower their sights and change their ambitions, the former Kaiserslautern keeper insisted: “If you win two or three games in football, you can be up there on top. In football, things can change quickly.
“As I said, we have a great team, great lads in our squad. We'll manage the team in the next few days, the next few weeks. We'll make sure we can turn this around.
“I know it was before I arrived, but Hibs really struggled for almost half a season two years ago - and finished third at the end of the season. This just shows that it's possible to turn this around and get a good result in the end.
“Yeah, obviously it was a bit strange when you lose the gaffer, lose Sammy, who was a big person in this club. I saw them every day and then one day or the other they are not there anymore. So it was a bit strange the last few days.
“But yeah, I've been in these situations before in my life. Everything we can do is stick together and move forward.
“When you have been through this before, you know what players need at this moment. It’s just to stick together, maybe look at yourself too.
“So we all had to look back and think about what everyone could have done better in the last few games. And then we knew it was about giving your best in the next few games which are left before the new manager comes in.”
Spain training camp starts Saturday
Sallinger offered some insight into the atmosphere at East Mains as players gathered following the loss of virtually their entire first-team coaching staff last week, with Potter – brought in by Gray in the summer and left to hold the fort – drawing on academy staff to run training and Saturday’s game.
“Yeah, of course it's a bit quieter,” he said. “Not because of Sammy going, just, but because the whole staff has been great human beings.
“Especially when I came from Austria on the very first day, they welcomed me so well. Since then, a big friendship has grown between each other. But it is what it is in football, that happens.”
With the exception of Owen Elding, Miguel Chaiwa, Azeem Abdulai and Jacob Devaney, who are all away on international duty, the entire Hibs squad have been given time off – already scheduled before Gray’s departure – at the start of the international break.
Sallinger, who played in all 15 games – six European qualifiers, seven league games and two Premier Sports Cup ties – squeezed into just over eight weeks, struck a relieved note as he said: “I've got some time off now, flying home. Obviously, my family wasn't over for the last few weeks since I came here from the summer break. I'm looking forward to that.
“Get the batteries recharged and then we go again. There are big games coming up. We want to make sure we turn this around, go out there and be successful again.”