Hibs Exclusive: Gaffer Gray reveals how bold Christmas plan paid off in Boxing Day derby win at Tynecastle

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Gift of family time rewarded as players switched on to beat Hearts

Victorious Hibs gaffer David Gray has revealed the thinking behind his bold decision to scrap Christmas Day training so players could spend time with their families. And the rookie head coach says a famous Boxing Day triumph at Tynecastle was all the thanks he needed as grateful stars repaid his faith with a dominant performance.

Vindicated by yesterday’s 2-1 victory, Gray explained why he’d decided to keep his squad away from East Mains just 24 hours before such a huge fixture. He hailed his players for following individual training plans at home – and for switching on as soon as they reported for duty at the team’s pre-match base.

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Hibs had the full squad and coaching staff in a hotel on Wednesday evening, with Gray and his backroom boys running through tactical presentations on the eve of their first away win in the Edinburgh derby since 2019. But he’d given them all the full day off – with a training programme to be squeezed in – to enjoy the festivities.

‘I've obviously been a player, but this is the first time I've actually been responsible for deciding what we do on Christmas Day,” said the former captain. “I think it's about looking at your squad, trusting your squad, trusting the players to do the right things. But also making sure everyone's aware of the magnitude of the game, making sure everyone does it properly.

“We gave them the morning off to spend the morning with their families, because that's moments you'll never get back in your life. You know, I've had the opportunity, some of the boys have got young kids. I know myself how special that day is for me.

“Having said that, I always had one eye on the game. I probably wasn't the best of company, to be honest!

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“Then bringing the players together again at night, I thought was great, because the players responded well to having the time off in the morning. But it’s not as if they're just coming to the game having had a day off the day before the game, not at all.”

With four games crammed into 16 days over the Christmas and New Year period, Hibs would necessarily have been on a light training programme, in terms of conditioning, just to keep players sharp. Gray said he’d trusted his men to stay in peak condition – while giving them the chance to get a mental break by making an early exit from family time.

“They were given a programme to do in their own time, as a loosener, to make sure it wasn't just a wasted day,” he explained, adding: “But I think the players responded really well to it.

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“We were able to do a bit of pre-match meetings at night, bringing them all together. You’re also guaranteeing that the boys are going to bed at reasonable time, they're not getting any distractions with in-laws or any people coming to their house. The distractions that can be there on Christmas night, for example.

“So we make sure we're resting properly, preparing properly, and then we all travel, eat at the same time, eating properly, and then getting to the game, preparing for the game. There was a lot of tactical stuff went into training on Christmas Eve, so it was probably a bit more of a refresher on that, because you've not done it during the day.

“And then just try and make the players feel as relaxed as possible and make it so it's no longer Christmas Day; it's now preparation for what I believe is the greatest opportunity and the best place to go and play football. Try and get a result against your local rivals, I'm delighted for everyone involved because it worked out to be the right thing to do.”

Victory over Hearts gave Hibs their fourth win in the past five fixtures, while Gray’s men have also won three league games on the bounce for the first time since the middle of last season. After beating Ross County at home, Aberdeen away and Hearts on the other side of Edinburgh, the Hibees welcome Kilmarnock to Easter Road on Sunday.

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