Exclusive:What Hibs boss thinks of Martin O'Neill still winning at 73 - and Shaun Maloney 'strong influence' on Celtic
Easter Road side chasing first Celtic Park win in over SIXTEEN years on Sunday
The biggest threat to Hibs at Celtic Park on Sunday? Easy. The slightly built, bespectacled, quick-thinking 73-year-old patrolling the technical area with the energy of a much younger man.
Easter Road gaffer David Gray readily acknowledges that any team led by Martin O’Neill, currently doing his third tour of duty as Hoops boss after being called back into clean up the mess left by Wilfried Nancy’s disastrous 33-day reign of confusion, will cause problems for the opposition. There’s a reason why so many Celtic fans, still fuming over the hole punched in their team’s title challenge by Nancy’s mad detour from footballing common sense, would love to see the veteran Irishman extend his stay beyond the end of the season.
Maloney is right-hand man to O’Neill
Gray, who will come up against not just O’Neill but former Hibs boss Shaun Maloney – the young coach assisting the wily old manager – in Sunday’s Scottish Premiership contest, believes his team have what it takes to make history this weekend. Seeking a first away win against Celtic in over 16 years, the former club captain also understands that magnitude of the challenge. And it starts with his opposite number.
“Martin O’Neill has obviously stood the test of time,” said Gray, now in just his second season in management, the relative new boy adding: “He's been at it a very very long time, and he's been very extremely successful everywhere he's been.
“That doesn't happen by mistake. There is a level of experience and knowledge there that you have to acknowledge and understand. The fact that he’s still in the game, still performing at a very high level, tells you something.
“It's a test for myself, stepping up to play against his team. Even if you think the last time we played at Easter Road, it was about testing myself against a very successful manager.
“So I think we're aware of that. I'm certainly well aware of that myself - and I look forward to the challenge.”
While Gray has only watched O’Neill from afar, the current Hibs boss worked under the man currently serving as No. 2 at Celtic. Shaun Maloney lasted just four months at Easter Road, the highly respected coach paying the price for failure to turn his ideas into performances, but is considered an integral part of the Hoops backroom staff.
Gray believes the former Scotland forward’s influence can definitely be seen in how Celtic play, explaining: “Shaun's a very good coach, we know that, very good on the grass, very knowledgeable in the way he wants to see the game. I think he has - and he will have - a strong influence there.
“You would expect that because of his level of experience and level of qualities that he's got. So that's certainly there.
“You can see that there's a certain reflection of that there, just in the way Celtic play. Which again adds to the challenge.
“It's certainly not a benefit that I’ve worked with him before, not at all. Because the situation has changed since he was here.
“All we can do, every week, is concentrate on what we think gives us the best chance to win a game of football. It’s always hard. And we don’t expect this one to be any different.
“History tells you that it’s a tough venue for us. A Hibs team's not won there in the league since 2010 - a very long time ago since that's happened.
“I think we've been some really good performances there, though, without getting the win. Obviously our aim is to change that.”
Schedule favours visitors seeking first Celtic Park win since January 2010
Celtic were pushed to the limit by Kilmarnock on Sunday, the visitors taking until deep into injury time to secure a 3-2 victory that gives them the chance – should they win their game in hand – to move level on points with league leaders Hearts. They host VfB Stuttgart in the first leg of their Europa League play-off in Glasgow tomorrow night, before playing their third game in a week against Hibs on Sunday.
Gray’s men, by contrast, will have had a solid eight-day break between fixtures when they pitch up at Celtic Park. While the game may come too soon for Grant Hanley and Chris Cadden, both working their way back from injury, January signing Munashe Garananga may be available after missing the weekend win over St Mirren with an ankle injury sustained on derby duty at Tynecastle.
Hibs will still definitely be without Josh Mulligan. But club captain Joe Newell, who hasn’t featured since starting in the 0-0 home draw with Rangers at the start of the month, should have recovered from a minor hip injury.
Gray, aware that even an extra 24 hours can make the world of a difference to players not hurt enough to be on the injured list, but nursing knocks, tightness and strains guaranteed to curtail performance levels, said: “The biggest thing for me was going into the game off the back of a positive result at home to St Mirren. That meant we could into a full week's training where everybody's going to benefit from it.
“There's certain players that will have benefited from a couple of days off now as well, with the game being on the Sunday. That allowed us to give them an extra day. Certainly defensive players have put a lot of minutes that have been stretched at times, some players playing with knocks and bumps and bruises.
“To go to Celtic Park and get a win, you need to be at your very best as a squad. Are we capable of going and doing that? Absolutely. And we’ll certainly be going into the game in a real positive frame of mind with a game plan to go there and win.”