Exclusive:Hibs boss in 'hugely important' admission as season-defining tests against United, Hearts and Dons loom large
League-leading capital rivals playing ‘exceptionally well’ says Easter Road gaffer
Hibs boss David Gray has challenged his players to revitalise their season over a “hugely important” three-game closing stretch to 2025. And he’s addressed the challenge of facing a Hearts team playing “exceptionally well” to maintain their position at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
Gray will be at Tannadice tonight to see Dundee United take on Celtic. Hibs head to Tayside to face Jim Goodwin’s men on Saturday.
Second Edinburgh Derby of season falls just after Christmas
The second Edinburgh Derby of the season, at Easter Road on December 27, is already looking like a typically important contest. And Hibs round off the calendar year with the visit of Aberdeen on the night of December 30.
Gray, looking ahead to seeing how United fare against Wilfried Nancy’s spiralling Celtic, said: “United will be looking to build on a positive point against Motherwell off the back of the recent form. It's a difficult place to go. It always is.
“So we'll keep an eye on that one and be as ready as we can be for the weekend. Because I think this period coming up is very important, all games against teams round about us in the table.
“They’re all games that I think if we can have a real positive run can really set you up for the season. I think that's hugely important.
“We're not going to look past United at all because I think it's a real difficult test. But if you can go up there and react and bounce back from the disappointments losing to Rangers, and go and win the game, it puts you in a really good position.”
Momentum stalled as Hearts move 14 points clear
Gray’s men have struggled to build any momentum over their first 17 games of the Scottish Premiership campaign and, despite still sitting in fifth place, they’re already 14 points behind their nearest and dearest rivals. The next three games have the potential to make or break the campaign.
While most Hibs fans would argue that it’s essential to head into the Hearts game with some sort of positive result and performance against United bolstering confidence, Gray isn’t painting his team into a corner, saying: “I think you want to go into every game as positive as you can. I think derbies are always very different.
“I think in terms of form guides, we all talk about that often enough. I think it really is going to be a case of who turns up.
“I think if both teams were to lose before we played each other, I don't think it changes the game. I think we'll be fully focussing on what we can do.
“Hearts are obviously playing exceptionally well at the moment. They've put themselves in a very good position. But derbies are derbies and we'll be going into it with a game plan to win the game, that's for sure.”
Still ranked third in the league when it comes to goals per game, Hibs remain frustrated that their performances haven’t produced a greater points total, with close games against the leading clubs – 1-0 at Tynecastle, 2-1 at home to Celtic and now TWO one-goal defeats to Rangers – yet to yield a result. Monday night at Ibrox, with the visitors failing to create a single clear-cut chance against their fragile hosts, presented Gray with a different sort of problem.
Asked if frustration was a recurring theme this season, the former club captain said:“Yeah, but I think it was different against Rangers. So the frustration's different tonight because there's been times this season when I've felt we've missed big opportunities - clear-cut chances or areas in which situations have really changed the game.
“At Ibrox, I thought we got to the final third and it was really unlike us because we misplaced the pass or the choice to cross or the decision to cross or whatever. We just got it wrong too many times and didn't have that cutting edge in the final third, which is unlike us.
“The frustration previously has been not taking chances when they come - and we've always been very good at creating chances. But against Rangers, we didn't really create that great opportunity.
“We had the one off the line, I suppose, which was a chance and we were a toenail offside away from a potential penalty. We've been offside with that one, I think.
“But did we really do enough? Did we really have real opportunities? I think that's the bit that frustrates me as a coach - but also frustrates the players. Because we know we're better than that.”