Hibs stopper in 'letting gaffer down' admission as players take responsibility for slump - Exclusive

Letting the gaffer down. An undeniable truth. And an admission familiar to anyone who has followed football for any length of time.

If there is no great shock value in Hibs defender Jack Iredale repeating another variation on an old theme, it’s still worth saying. Because it cuts straight through the eternal debate about shared, collective, individual and ultimate responsibility for a team’s failure to launch.

The guys asked to pull on the jersey and live out the dreams of every supporter, the professional footballers paid not to play but to win games, they see how hard David Gray and his coaching staff are working. They’re also privy to every team talk, tactical session, pre-match planning meeting and post-match post-mortem.

Virtually to a man, they have been impressed by the quality, focus and attention to detail brought to the job by their rookie head coach. They feel like he’s doing his bit. And then some.

Experienced defender Iredale, speaking in blunt terms about his team’s current predicament, said: “Football's football. You need to fight. You need to do the dirty stuff to earn the right to be able to do the fun stuff.

“That's where we're letting ourselves down - and that's where we're letting the management team down. Because they're setting us up so well. They're giving us such good messages. 

“It feels like countless times since I've come in, we've been in control of games. We can say that we deserve more than what we're getting out.

“But at the same time, it's our mistakes. That needs to change now. That can't change down the line. 

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“I feel like we were turning a corner. I thought that was going to be against United. But we have another red card, a penalty. Whether it was or not, it's happened, and we can't change that now.”

Iredale was thrown into Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Dundee United just after half-time, as Gray was forced to rejig his back line when Lewis Miller aggravated an ankle injury. The same set of circumstances, more or less, that saw the Aussie pitched into action following Chris Cadden’s injury in the catastrophic 3-2 loss to United at Tannadice just a couple of weeks early.

On both occasions, Hibs have had a player red carded. And then conspired to effectively throw points away. Unable to kill opponents off with another goal to provide a cushion, Gray’s men rarely look more vulnerable than when they’re protecting a lead.

“I can understand the run that we've been on where you get a goal and you're in front,” admitted Iredale, the former Greenock Morton, Carlisle, Cambridge and Bolton man adding: “You want to try and protect it a little bit.

“But at the same time, we had opportunities to be able to make it calmer for ourselves. But even defensively, we felt so in control, ready to see the game out. The red card penalty spins everything on its head.

“But what I will say is I think the reaction to that was excellent. We have learnt a lesson from the last time we played them, which was only a couple of weeks ago. We nearly had an opportunity to go up the other end and take the game.

“I mean, how many times can we say how we feel after this situation? Again, letting ourselves down when we're in such control. Set up really well, fought really well, scrapped really well.

“First half we had complete control, really good chances. Second half limited them to one opportunity I can think of. Again, feeling in complete control.

“We made a tactical substitution based off an injury, still in complete control. And then we let ourselves and let the gaffer down again.”

Iredale didn’t get a good look at the Mykola Kuharevich foul that saw United awarded a penalty, with the striker picking up a second yellow for the offence. But he was right on the spot when Warren O’Hora all but had the shirt pulled off his back at a corner as ten-man Hibs chased a winner.

“Personally, this is my first experience with VAR,” he said, adding: “I'm still trying to learn as well. 

“You need to be able to use your hands. But at the same time, you can't be pulling, yanking, all that stuff to a certain extent. 

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“I've not seen what the penalty is for, but if it is for a pull on the shirt ... I'm stood right behind Warren in the other box. To me it seems like a pull on the shirt as well.”

Iredale finds himself in the unusual situation of being a defender trying to break into a team leaking goals. Yet forced to admit that the guys in possession of the jerseys are making it difficult for Gray to change anything.

“Since I've come in, it feels like the best performers in the team have been Marvin (Ekpiteta), Warren and Jordan Obita. So I've got to stay patient. I've got to play my role and support them as best as I can and wait for my opportunity.

“When I do come on, I've got to help with my experience and trying to control the game as much as possible. I think I did that, and I think we did that. 

“I was in the Scottish Championship a couple of years ago, so I'm used to this. It's a physically strong game. To me, it's more of the same.

“I'm just staying patient. I know what I can bring to this team.”