Hibs Euro preparations boosted by ultra experience - and summer signing tipped for goal blitz by gaffer
Attacking midfielder hit stride early with goal on home debut
David Gray believes his Hibs team’s European preparations have been boosted by the experience of playing in front of the fired-up Rot-Weiss Essen ultras. And he’s encouraged by new arrival Jamie McGrath making a lightning start to his Easter Road career, predicting that the former Aberdeen attacker will chip in with more goals once the competitive action kicks off.
Gray saw his team edge out German third-tier side Essen in a five-goal thriller on Wednesday night, the Scottish Premiership side fielding all of their new faces and giving game time to a couple of youngsters over 90 minutes at Easter Road. The game, a throwback to the clubs’ 1955 European Cup encounter in Hibernian’s very first UEFA contest, was made more interesting by the Rot-Weiss fans – over 2000 of them – letting off pyros and singing throughout the match.
Hibs travel to Denmark to take on FC Midtjylland in the first leg of their Europa League second qualifying round tie on July 24, with the return fixture in Edinburgh a week later. Gray, who is taking his team to Bournemouth for a friendly next week before hosting Bolton Wanderers in a testimonial for Darren McGregor, believes the Essen experience can only be of benefit.
“It definitely does us no harm at all when you're thinking about European football and what that sort of experience is and different levels of opposition and types of games,” he said, adding: “Because that sort of atmosphere was great.
“But the level of players you're playing against and different styles you don't get every year in a pre-season friendly. So it was good to have that this year.
“It didn't feel like a non-event, pre-season friendly that I've been involved in as a player many times. And you're just thinking about getting minutes into your legs and having done everything you've done in training during the week and how difficult that is.
“Because it is still pre-season. We need to remember that. It is still pre-season.
“It's about getting fitter and getting stronger all the time. But I definitely didn't feel like that. I thought the atmosphere was excellent.
“The fact that probably the way the game went as well, from being 2-0 up, controlling the game, to then being pegged back to 2-2, added to that as well.”
David Gray puts demands on new attacking threat
Irish attacking midfielder McGrath scored just 73 seconds into his home debut. And Gray says he expects goals to a be a big part of the former St Mirren star’s game in the season head.
“Definitely,” he said, adding: “I think he's shown that over his career. He's technically very good. He arrives in the box.
“Tactically very good as well. I've seen that in the very short time I've spent working with him already. He gets it very quickly.
“Another one that's settled in really well with the boys, which is great. And it doesn't do your confidence any harm at all when you can get a goal in your home debut at Easter Road.
“So from that point of view, I'm delighted for him. Delighted for all the players in terms of Josh Mulligan in his first game. He's done really well, looked really strong, really fit. And Rafa (Sallinger) as well.
“And then the rest of the players, obviously coming back into pre-season and having a game like that, rather than a low-level pre-season friendly that was all about minutes. And that's what everybody clearly thinks it is. This was a lot more than that, which was really beneficial for us.”