'Hibs fans got us over the line' - gaffer Gray on 'reconnecting' with supporters in Easter Road triumph

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Hibs boss David Gray hailed his players for rebuilding their connection with the fan base after a crowd of over 19,000 roared them on to a fourth straight victory. Today’s 1-0 home win over Kilmarnock lifted the Easter Road side to within three points of the European places as a bumper attendance, buoyed by the club’s Football for a Fiver offer, were treated to gutsy performance.

Gray, who has seen his team rocket up the Scottish Premiership table after being rooted in last place at the start of the month, was pleased to see players digging in for victory in difficult conditions. And he believes being caught in the middle of a maelstrom earlier in the season, with fans protesting against the board amid genuine relegation fears, has strengthened the mettle of a squad tempered by the experience.

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“The players are really playing with confidence now, and that's because we've come through the adversity and stuck together during tough times,” said Gray, who said having a big crowd backing his team from the off today was “very, very important.”

The former captain added: “We've experienced tough times this season, and we've been through real adversity if you think back to how the season went at times, especially here. The fans were clearly frustrated, and rightly so, because of what we had returned in terms of points, up until that point.

“I've played for this club before, I've been here a long time, I know the expectation and the demands of it, but when it's good like it is today, and they get right behind you, which you've seen now for a number of weeks, with the results and performances we've put in, you see how important they can be. They definitely got us over the line today, and then you see the scenes after the game at Tynecastle, and then you see the scenes today.

“It's all about belief and momentum, and building on that, and building that together. The connection between the fans and the players has been there for the last few weeks - and I think that's something we need to keep growing.”

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Victories over Ross County, Aberdeen, Hearts at Tynecastle on Boxing Day and now Killie have completely transformed the mood music at Easter Road. The last time Hibs won four on the bounce was way back in 2022, under Lee Johnson.

Gray said: “One thing I would always say, it's something I've quietly been confident about, given the time, if given the time can we turn it around, I always believed we could - because of the quality of the players we've got, because of the ways in which we maybe lost games, or how the games had went, and I had a real belief in what we were doing. But I also knew the players still had a belief in it.

“That was the thing that kept me going, which was the players still believed, they still worked hard, there was a massive togetherness, and you're starting to see the benefits of that. But this league, as you've already seen, everybody beats everyone and can change very quickly, so we need to keep looking up the way, keep moving forward and keep trying to improve as much as we can, because we need to start moving up towards that top six first and foremost.”

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Joe Newell limped out of action at half-time, Gray revealing: “He overstretched his groin a little bit, so we'll just have to see how that calms down. Hopefully it's nothing too serious, but he has had a bit of a groin issue as well over the last few weeks, but we'll see how that one is.”

Jack Iredale also had to be replaced midway through the second half after rolling his ankle, Gray saying: “Hopefully that's nothing too serious as well. But it will be about getting him in tomorrow, assessing him.

“It's too early to decide exactly what's happened, so once it settles down, we'll have a clearer picture, but hopefully nothing too serious for the two of them.”

Elie Youan – last seen leading the post-match celebrations at Tynecastle - missed today’s game after picking up a foot injury in the win over Hearts, the gaffer describing it as an “impact, contact injury” and explaining: “Once the swelling goes down that should just be a couple of days, there's nothing structural there we don't think, which is positive. This game just came too quickly, but fingers crossed he should be available for Thursday.

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“He probably felt a wee bit better after the game, but naturally once the game's settled and you come away from it, you've got a bit of swelling after there, so we'll just see how that settles down. This game was just too soon for him.”

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