Why football-savvy David Gray will be in demand after Hibs hothouse experience of Easter Road apprenticeship
Talking football with gaffer offered genuine insight into depth of knowledge and tactical understanding
If it’s what he wants, David Gray deserves to walk into the next interesting managerial job that crops up. And the smartest people responsible for making decisions in football will not be slow in offering the axed Hibs boss intriguing opportunities to return.
A young, energetic and driven manager with experience in domestic and European football, who knows the SPFL inside out - and has a track record of selling on players for multiple millions. Not the hardest sell to any chairman or chief executive, is it?
That’s not to get into the whole debate over whether his time at Easter Road had come to its natural end. Every club-manager relationship has a shelf life.
Hands-on presence at training
But anyone who has spent time talking football with Gray, a duty that’s been a genuine privilege over the past couple of years, can only have been impressed by the qualities he has shown as a leader, a tactician and – not a necessity, but certainly a bonus – a genuine class act of a human being. Even if he chose not to show all of his work, as the mathematicians would put it, to supporters leading the calls for his removal.
During countless hours debating the difference between a formation with the ball and shape out of possession, the merits of a midfield diamond versus a box or the niceties of how to defend specific situations, it was obvious that Gray had a deep understanding of the game. As you’d expect from someone who came through the ranks at Manchester United before serving under (checks notes) seven different Hibs managers, first as player and then coach.
Always interesting enough when the tape was rolling, his willingness to talk football – or just have a laugh about life – when the phone was tucked away made for enjoyable afternoons in the manager’s office at East Mains. Even when the world seemed to be conspiring against him, he could joke about life, the universe and his chances of surviving beyond the weekend; as recently as our meeting last midweek, he was facing up to the possibility of dismissal with grace and good humour.
But you always got the impression that Gray would have felt slightly uncomfortable, even patronising, if he’d started explaining some of the tactics and footballing logic that went into his team selections to the world at large. As if that would be interpreted, by supporters rightly focused on results first, last and always, as making excuses or citing mythical what-ifs.
A level-headed presence at East Mains
Some punters just like to complain, of course. On the journey back from Belgrade just over a year ago, it was only a mild shock to hear one travelling fan complain – loudly, because they’re always the loudest – about the gaffer “having no clue tactically.” Just after he had seen said manager lead his team to a 2-0 win over Partizan in the Serbian capital.
We live in an era of greater awareness, among the general public, when it comes to football tactics. But a little knowledge can sometimes lead to people reaching dangerous conclusions.
Gray is a solid tactician, as well as being a proper hands-on coach who isn’t afraid to get stuck right into the middle of a session and show players what he needs. Two qualities that make up about eight per cent of football management.
The rest? Well, his ability to stay calm when the world was losing its head never ceased to amaze. Even in private, he is Mr Control the Controllable. A man who refuses to fixate on the million things he can never change.
Not every footballer he ever coached will have loved him like a big brother. To paraphrase one of the most frequently used quotes about management, the key is keeping the 10 players who hate you away from the dozen who haven’t made up their minds yet.
But as a young man thrust into the spotlight, just 36 when he took the bold decision to put himself forward for the top job, he coped admirably with several crises during that first season. And his record over two full campaigns certainly represents a formidable body of work, with records sent tumbling at an impressive rate.
Still just 38, but with two-and-a-bit seasons of Scottish Premiership management under his belt, Gray has learned about football in a hothouse environment. If it meant he couldn’t make his mistakes in the shadows, learning his trade in the lower leagues before pitching up at Easter Road as more of a finished article, every day he spent in harness will have been worth a week or more of grafting down in the depths of the Scottish game, where no-one can hear you scream.
Other jobs will come around. Some may even arise during an international break that might have been designed specifically for clubs swithering over whether to change managers.
Too soon? Probably. But he’ll definitely get a second chance, at some point. And, football being what it is, may well come back to haunt Hibs one day.