Hibs given 'minimum standard' warning on effort and performance as gaffer delivers 'benchmark' demand

Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com 
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Visit Shots! now
Gray believes famous away win would have followed ‘if only’ his team grabbed equaliser

Hibs boss David Gray has warned his players that there can be no back-sliding after a battling loss at Ibrox, with the rookie head coach describing his team’s performance as a “benchmark” for the rest of the campaign. And he’s made it clear that the markers hit against Rangers should be considered a “minimum standard” for anyone wanting to be part of his starting XI.

Gray, still disappointed with yesterday’s 1-0 loss but impressed with how his men pushed Philippe Clement’s side all the way, declared: “That's a benchmark now that we need to then take into all the games moving forward. I've said now numerous occasions about the group getting stronger, getting fitter, a lot of new players gelling together, and I think you're starting to see evidence of that now there has been a progression in the performance levels.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“And we need to take that forward now. We can't just stop now - you need to keep pushing forward because our attention quickly changes towards Motherwell next week.

“That was my message to the players after the game. That’s the minimum standards set. When you think about the games we’ve lost this season, there has been a massive increase in performance levels and effort levels.

“We can’t get carried away. We sill lost the game. And there is still a lot to improve on.

“But the work rate and the effort, that’s the minimum requirement. That’s the standard we’ve now set. If we can take that into the rest of the season, we will be in a really good place.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Hibs fell behind to a wonder strike and missed a glorious opportunity to equalise when Mykola Kuharevich fluffed his lines from the penalty spot, while former Newcastle and Crystal Palace striker Dwight Gayle – making his first appearance for the club as a second-half substitute – sent a free header agonisingly wide of Jack Butland’s goal in the dying moments. Gray admitted he would spend a while thinking about the “what if” moments that decided the game.

“I thought we created numerous chances,” he said, adding: “I feel like Rangers were hanging on at the end – and that doesn’t happen very often at Ibrox. We just need to be more clinical in taking our chances.

“The least we deserved was a point. But I do believe that, if we had got that goal, we would have gone on to win the game.

“Credit to Rangers for blocking shots. Their defenders got themselves in the way. And Dwight’s chance is half an inch past the post. These are all what if moments.”

News you can trust since 1873
Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice