Exclusive:Hibs Euro adventurer Gray on Molde, maternity wards, McGinn's penalty miss and facing Erling Haaland

From the maternity ward to Molde, via a roundabout route, David Gray has already demonstrated his commitment to the idea of Hibs as European adventurers willing to put everything on the line. With a famous goal against Brondby and a chaotic win in near-zero visibility in the misty Faroe Islands on his record, the former club captain has earned his stripes with a handful of overseas tours.

Now that he’s manager, well, the lure of leading Hibs into UEFA competition – an honour he enjoyed as interim boss, on one oddly enjoyable night at Villa Park – is definitely a motivation. Even if it does mean missing the odd family birthday …

John McGinn penalty shoot-out drama part of the Europa League journey

Gray, scanning the memory banks to pick out the 2016 loss on penalties to Brondby and the rather more frustrating experience of going down 3-0 to Molde in Norway a couple of years later, grinned as he said: “I think we need to get this one right. Make sure we get this the right way round. My son Archie had just been born ahead of the Brondby game.

“We were 1-0 down from the first leg. That was after the Scottish Cup win the previous season, obviously.

“So my son had just been born, we went over to Brondby, we won 1-0 on the night over there. It went to extra time, although I wasn’t on for penalties. I fell on my AC joint, my shoulder, after I scored and had to come off, which is not ideal.

“John McGinn missed the penalty. I'll never forget that one. He was too tired to hit the penalty, I think. That was his shout at the end, anyway …

“That was a brilliant night to go over there and win in the atmosphere. Brondby were a good side at that time. Big club in Europe, big stadium. That was my first real experience of playing in Europe.”

If that 1-1 aggregate draw with the Danes was fun, Gray didn’t enjoy his role in the 2018 Europa League qualifier against Molde. Hibs drew the first leg of the tie 0-0 at Easter Road, only to have a young Erling Haaland lead the Norwegians to a 3-0 win in the return fixture.

For Gray, however, the occasion will always be memorable for reasons beyond football, the former fullback volunteering: “Another story with Europe was when my daughter Ada was born. We had Molde away in the second leg.

“My daughter was born on the Wednesday, I think. I just had to make sure everybody was alright, 10 minutes, then caught a flight from Edinburgh to... I had to do three flights - Copenhagen, somewhere else, somewhere else - to make sure I got there.

“Got to the hotel obviously late that night and then got to the game. And then the gaffer (Neil Lennon) left me out!

“I was raging. It didn't go down too well with me, obviously. I’d done everything to try and get there. I think he could tell from my face how I felt.

“But that was just ... that's why I remember that one, because clearly, it was such a massive moment of my life. My daughter comes along, I just needed to check that mother and daughter were all good. Straight away, 30 seconds later, I'm driving quickly to the airport.

“It shows you how much it means. I was just trying to have my cake and eat it.

“Thankfully I was able to do a bit of both. Apart from the fact that I didn't get on the pitch until the last five minutes.

“I think he put me on at 2-0 down after Haaland had scored two, I think. I think I had steam coming out of my ears that day, to be honest. But that was the way it was – still a special time in my life, obviously.”

Aston Villa and an early managerial test against Unai Emery

Gray, who stepped into the breach as interim more than once before finally applying for – and getting – the top job last summer, added: “Just in Europe in general, we've had some really good runs. Some big nights, big games.

“The most obvious one was going to Aston Villa. The occasion there, as much as we lost the game, 5-0 down going into the second leg and then I was actually interim manager was special.

“The experience with the fans and how that was after the game, and the opportunity to go and play against Aston Villa at Villa Park, was a brilliant experience for a club like Hibs. It was almost like a World Cup final, having been 5-0 down, to go down there and enjoy it.

“That's the nights you want to be involved, and that's the opportunity you've got when you play, when you are successful at this club. Villa went on to Champions League the next season, so it shows you the level of players you are playing against. If you think back to that run, going over to Lucerne and winning over there, that was a brilliant experience.

“We've had some interesting ties as well. I remember going over to Faroe Islands to play Runavik the same year we played Molde. I think we were pretty comfortable in the first leg. In the second leg, the mist came down. You could hardly see the other side of the pitch.

“The score was ridiculous. It was some random score, 12-5 on aggregate. Aye, defences on top! You get the opportunity to play against teams and visit places you'd never get a chance to normally.”

GET THE LATEST HIBS NEWS DIRECTLY TO YOUR EMAIL INBOX WITH OUR FREE NEWSLETTER SERVICE

Players love Europe for all the adventure and excitement it brings. Coaches enjoy the challenge of trying to outsmart a different sort of opponent. And gaffers? Well, Gray would be lying if he said sharing a touchline with Unai Emery at Villa Park didn’t set the interim thinking – just a wee bit – about the experiences he might enjoy one day, should his managerial ambitions pan out …

“A hundred percent,” he said, explaining: “You're standing 15 yards away from one of the top managers in the world.

“I'd like to say I enjoyed testing myself against him, but I was 5-0 down when I was there, so it wasn't ideal! But that was all part of the experience I was very fortunate to gain under all the different managers I worked with.

“And these are the big games you want to be involved in as a manager. At that point I was very focused on being what I could be and learning all the time under the different managers. It wasn't as if at that point I was thinking about me as a manager.

“But I knew Europe was – or should be – part of the experience for a Hibs manager and players. Hopefully we deliver on it this year again.”

Your next Hibs read: Exclusive as ‘desperate’ forward pushes for comeback