Hibs Exclusive as Gray insists team 'capable' of Celtic Cup upset


Hibs boss David Gray insists his team are one of the few in Scotland capable of beating Celtic on their own turf – and says he’ll have a plan to knock the champions out of the Premier Sports Cup. The new head coach was speaking for the first time since the last-16 draw, which saw unseeded Hibs pitted against Brendan Rodgers’ all-conquering title winners.
Gray, focused on the immediate challenge of Sunday’s SPFL Premiership kick-off against St Mirren in Paisley, will also welcome Celtic to Easter Road on league business - on August 11 – before that cup clash the following weekend. But he’s already plotting a path to a first Hibs victory at Celtic Park since January 2010.
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Hide Ad“We are probably one of the teams who are capable of going there and causing an upset,” said the former Scottish Cup-winning captain. “So it’s definitely going to be our full focus, 100 per cent, going into that game. It’s a good challenge.
“If you want to win a cup, you have to beat the best. Celtic were the best last season, and I expect them to very powerful this season.
“It’s a difficult draw. But on any given day, that has to be the challenge, that we go and win the game. It’s a one-off game, we need to have a plan to win it.
“You need to believe you can win. I’ve seen that repeatedly at times over the years.
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Hide Ad“The expectation will be on Celtic to win, 100 per cent. Naturally, with the position they’re in, they’re favourites.
“But we’ve been in that situation ourselves this season and know how difficult it can be. I tried to guard against it going up to Elgin, going up to Kelty.
“We’ve also got the league game before it. St Mirren first but then, before we even think about the cup game, we’ve got Celtic at home in the league.
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Hide Ad“That’s a completely different challenge. They will be two very different games, two every different occasions.
“It’s a tough start. But it means I’ll find out a lot about a lot of people very early on.”