Hibs legend Gray: 'Belief was key to our famous Cup win - and we need same faith again.'

Togetherness, experience, an understanding of what this club means to so many – and a fearless streak that left no room for doubt. It’s a Scottish Cup formula that has already worked once for David Gray.

As he waxes lyrical about the sense of dressing room unity and squad spirit he’s seeing in his first year as a manager, then, it’s only natural that he’s asked about the role played by those qualities in THAT special season. And he’s happy to answer the question.

Reflecting on a campaign that ended with him holding the Scottish Cup aloft as Hibs captain at Hampden on a pretty decent afternoon in May of 2016, the former skipper said: “The spirit and togetherness was huge. That and the belief that we could do it, which was the key.

“When I think back to that season, we couldn't end the season NOT winning it. Because in my opinion we'd have been such a nearly season, when you think back to what we had.

“The priority was promotion that season from the Championship. We got to the final of the League Cup, obviously lost out to Ross County, which was a real blow, especially to my career personally.

“But to go into that game and lose the game, and then lose out in the play-off against Falkirk, I think it was a long throw in the last minute of the game … Going into the Cup final six or seven days later, it was such a nearly season.

“We couldn’t let it end that way. That was the full motivation, that we can’t end the season having done so well but with nothing to show for it.

“But also going into the game we knew if we could play to the best of our ability, we were good enough to go and do it. I think every player to a man believed we were going to go and do that on the day. I think that's credit to the group, but also the staff that managed to get that culture and team spirit.”

Drawing on his experiences as a player and coach, Gray is adamant that he’s got the right blend needed to get past Ayr United at Somerset Park tomorrow night – the trickiest tie faced by any Scottish Premiership side in an otherwise dull looking last 16. Not that he’ll be taking anything for granted.

“I think the big thing I'm seeing just now is the togetherness within the group,” he said, adding: “I think that's the key, the way that the group's been moving forward this season, because it's had to go through real adversity as well, and stick together during the tough times.

‘Desperate’ to repeat Hampden glory

“I've taken a lot of confidence from that, because it would be easy to start to doubt things at certain stages of the season, but I've never ever felt that. And I think we've got a really good group of individuals as well

“We've also got a lot of experience, the boys who have been here for a number of years, like Martin Boyle and Chris Cadden and Joe Newell, guys who have been here a long time and have experienced it, have been successful at the football club. Boyle's won the competition with this club before, and he'd be desperate to try and do that again.

“Then you've got young boys that are coming through, Josh Campbell and boys like that, who fully understand what it means to play for this football club. We’ve got a really good balance within that, so that's something that when I think back to squads, and successful squads I've been involved in before, there's definitely that blend of boys who understand it, understand the football club, know what the expectation is - and young hungry players that are desperate to try and improve and win something.”

Explaining what is needed for elite teams to get past the trickiest of cup ties, a category that certainly suits tomorrow night’s contest, Gray said: “You need to have the right mentality going into the game, because it is about mentality. It's about making sure that you do everything right all the time, because it will be a real difficult game going into it, we know it's going to be difficult. All the expectation that you have to carry as well going into these games, people expect you to go there and win.

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“But it's not as if there's massive differences between the levels. Ayr are flying at the moment in the Championship at the top end, playing with confidence.

“The difference that winning feeling makes when you go into games, they're going into it fully confident. But we’re in a real good run of form ourselves.

“So it’s about doubling down on what you can do, what your qualities are and what you bring to the team as an individual and making sure you can dominate your opponent. And if everybody can do that, we should have a successful night.”

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