Hibs squad given 'you only get one career' reminder as Gray insist third place worth more than Euro shot

Europe matters. Of course it does. For reasons that go beyond merely the financial impact of guaranteed group stage involvement in ANY of UEFA’s club competitions.

As David Gray looks to guide his Hibs team through the closing stages of an emotionally exhausting season, however, he occasionally likes to narrow the focus to something more immediate than the prospect of playing in the Europa League or Europa Conference League. With the top five in the Scottish Premiership all likely to end up getting some crack at continental competition, assuming Celtic complete their Treble to take the Scottish Cup winners’ place out of the equation, what price pure professional pride in finishing Best of the Rest behind the big two?

Gray, who has loan players and out-of-contract starters exploring free agency to motivate and manage on a daily basis, knows that not everyone will be back to enjoy the European rewards of a lofty finish in Scotland’s top flight. So does he use the rather basic idea of being part of something special, a genuine achievement, as an incentive?

Scottish Cup-winning captain says finishing third would be another ‘special moment’ in career

“Yes, very much so,” said the former Scottish Cup-winning skipper. “I think you've only got one career. It's something I talk a lot about, having one career and one chance at it.

“I've been very fortunate when I think back to my career, moments in my career that I remember. And this will certainly go down as one of those, if we go and finish third in the run, the amount of history we've changed and the positivity this season. Probably because of how we’ve done it as well.

“But that's the opportunity. We’ve not done anything yet, that's the big thing, so it’s about keeping the players humble. That’s something that they've been excellent at every single day. They deserve all the praise in the world for staying level-headed, grounded, trying to improve all the time, taking on the information.

“Whether they’re here next season, whether they’re not, whether they’re playing in Europe – whatever it might be - it’s in everyone’s best interest to play as well as they can all the time. And it's certainly something when you look back on your career that you think it was great to be part of that squad, and I'm certainly feeling that at the moment.

“I think it's because there's an inner belief that you think you can go and do it. I think it's something that we've put ourselves in a position to be able to go and deliver.

“When you think of the games that are left, four games to go, we’re sitting in third position at the minute, with everybody still to play around about you. Those are the games that you want to be involved in. As players you want to try and win every single game and finish as high as you can in the league.

Bragging rights and bonuses

“And I think it’s about bragging rights for your supporters as well. They're the ones who come and spend the money every single week, they want to support their team and want their team to be successful.

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“Then there are the bonuses and accolades that individuals get from that, in terms of playing at a certain level, but also that the team get from that, the feel-good factor and coming back to next season, season tickets and everything. The momentum that builds with that, with the football club and the positivity around it, is something that comes from success - and you want that to maintain as much as you can.

“Clearly the highest we can finish is third and that would be an incredible achievement for the players when you think back to where we were to where we are now. I think that's the big driving force for the players now.”

Scottish clubs should feel confident heading into UEFA competition

The details of the season are well known by now. A horrific start to the league campaign that saw Hibs sitting bottom of the table as recently as early December, followed by an unbeaten run of 17 straight league games – finally lost at Pittodrie last weekend – to make Gray’s men slight favourites to finish third.

With Dundee United up next at Easter Road this afternoon, Hibs can take another major step towards that goal. And start planning for Europe, in some shape or form?

Gray is adamant that ALL of the Scottish sides good enough to enter UEFA’s qualifiers in a few months will fancy their chances of putting a sustained strain on their playing resources, pointing out: “As long as the prize is European football you need to have a squad that's able to deal with that because there's games in Europe. You want to back yourself to try and go as far into that as you can.

“I know there's certain scenarios where you can almost guarantee yourself group stage football. But any team in Scotland that finishes with the opportunity to try and play in Europe will always have that eye on trying to get to that next stage.

“I think we've demonstrated that with our teams in Europe, Celtic and Rangers how well they've done in Europe, Hearts have obviously done well as well. It's a good league, a competitive league that I think can do well in Europe.

“And I think that will be on everyone's mind that knowing that it's a challenge when you're having to play European and domestic football as well - but that's what you want to be involved in. That's the challenge to the players all the time and a challenge for myself as a coach to try and improve all the time.”

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