Hibs boss shares memories of Lennon's 'iconic' Rangers celebration as Easter Road braced for party scenes

He won’t be ‘doing a Lenny’ on the touchline. Even if we do get another 10-goal thriller. It’s just not David Gray’s style, is it?

At the end of a season that might once have seemed absolutely interminable, however, the Hibs boss – who has squeezed several careers’ worth of experience into his first year as gaffer – is entitled to feel in the mood for celebration. Why, should his team round off the campaign with a home win over Rangers this afternoon, he might even punch the air in delight …

Gray, quick to mock himself as some sort of grumpy young man on the touchline, has had a few days to contemplate the enormity of the achievement secured by dint of Wednesday night’s dramatic draw with St Mirren in Paisley. From being at the helm of a team desperately seeking just a single win, he’s now proudly presiding over a group who wrapped up third place with a game to spare.

Explaining how he reacted when he finally got home from the final road trip of the season, Gray looked momentarily puzzled as he said: "That's a good question actually. I didn't sleep much, to be honest.

“It was probably a wee bit of relief. It was back to the same conversation I've had in my wife again: ‘You’re STILL not happy, what's wrong with you?’ At least I'm consistent, that's all I'm going to say.

“There was a wee bit of relief there, 100 per cent, because until it's done it's never done. But I had full belief in the players. And to do it with a game to spare is an incredible achievement.

“I said that to the players straight after the game. Don't underestimate how good an achievement this actually is from where we were.

“I don't know exactly how many games it was, 13 games or whatever, we’re bottom of the league. To then with a game to spare secure third place is an incredible achievement.”

Third place a distant dream as Hibernian’s Scottish Premiership status put at risk

Aware of just how rare a feat Hibs have pulled off, considering their status as bottom dogs in the Scottish Premiership as recently as early December, Gray admits he wasn’t even thinking about challenging for third place when everything seemed ranged against his team.

"Giving up on third?” he asked, laughing as he added: “I just needed to get off the bottom of the league! I wanted to win a game - that was the problem.

“No I hadn't thought about third position at that point at all. At that point it was about trying to find a formula that got the players the confidence to get over the line.

“It was a case of trying to make sure I can consistently demonstrate to the players why it's going to turn - if we do the right things. I believed it would turn, and thankfully we managed to find that bit of form and that momentum.

“When you think about the psychology of how the season started, as much as we were bottom of the league, it was so tight. And it was like, well, a couple of wins and you could end up sixth or something like that.

“When we were sitting seventh, we knew we could lose the next one and end up bottom of the league. It was always that tight.

Aberdeen collapse gave Hibs a chance to leapfrog Dons

“There was a point I think, with Aberdeen's start, you're almost getting to the point where you kind of hope that Aberdeen just keep beating everybody. So then nobody else can really get closer and everyone else stays tight.

“Before you know it, they start losing games and then we start catching them. So it's amazing how the psychology of the season changes from at that point, when you're thinking Aberdeen were going to run away with third position.

“If you had said to us at that point that we would turn it round and finish third, I don't think that many people would agree with you. But as I said to the players straight after the game, at this stage of the season, the league certainly doesn't lie.

“And I think on reflection, the players have been incredibly consistent. Even at the start of the season during the difficult times the level of performance was not a reflection of the points we had. It’s very easy to say that now but during that period it was about believing in it and sticking together - and they certainly did that.”

Gray enjoyed Neil Lennon’s famous celebration amid Easter Road ‘mayhem’

Today’s lunchtime kick-off shouldn’t really have the potential emulate the famous 5-5 Easter Road draw between Hibs and Rangers back in 2018. Which would probably suit Gray just fine.

"That was mayhem,” recalled the former club captain, who watched from the bench as Neil Lennon was red-carded for his famous aeroplane/helicopter celebration after Jamie Maclaren’s injury-time equaliser, the ex-skipper adding: “We needed to win 5-0 or something like that and then after 10 minutes we were 3-0 up or something. I'm going: ‘This might happen, this is unbelievable …’

“It was a proper game of football, both teams bang at it trying to win, end to end. It was a brilliant game.

“There is no such thing as a nothing game either. Both teams are going to be desperate to finish the season on a high.

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“It's a long time before your next game. For some it might be their last game for Hibs - it will certainly be the last time this full group play together. So you want to try and end it as positively as you can.

“For the way the season has gone, it would be fitting if we can finish the season with three points against Rangers. It's difficult to do - it's been a while since we won a competitive league game against Rangers at home (2016 in the Scottish Championship).”

Asked if he’d ever consider copying Lennon’s famous touchline glee from that game, Gray said: "I think I might punch the air! There you go, that's as good as it gets for me I think. But it's an iconic celebration. I quite enjoyed watching it - it was entertaining.”

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