Why Hibs boss is taking nothing for granted as Gray outlines 'aggressive' threat from dangerous Livingston
David Martindale’s team prop up Scottish Premiership - and have lost TWICE to Hibs already this season
Hibs know exactly what they’re walking into against Livingston this afternoon. And the fact that they’ve defeated David Martindale’s twice already this season, bagging a 2-0 away in in the Premier Sports Cup before scudding the Lions 4-0 at Easter Road just a fortnight ago, is the furthest thing from David Gray’s mind.
The Hibs boss, eager to round off a three-game week with a professional performance and three precious points against the team currently propping up the Scottish Premiership, is working hard to keep his players from taking anything for granted today. Because he knows that any Martindale team boasts a couple of non-negotiable qualities.
“Organised, aggressive,” said Gray, the former captain adding: “They play with intensity.
“I've seen a few of Davie's comments after games; he's frustrated, he knows they're not far away. I watched the Motherwell game; they could have easily won that game at the very end.
“So it's just the story of the season, it's very, very tight, everyone's so competitive and you need to be at the top of your game to have the right to win any game of football. It's difficult to do that and I'm fully expecting, as I've already said, a real tough test tomorrow.”
The fact that Livi are sitting bottom of the league might just present an opening to Hibs, who will be looking to give their hosts an early excuse to feel like the world is against them, Gray pointing out: “The first goal in the game is usually always very important anyway.
“But I think if you have been going on a tough run, if we can start on the front foot and go and take the game to the limits and start well. If you've not been playing as well and results aren't quite where they need to be, you're maybe a wee bit more, I don't know if the right word would be fragile, I'm not too sure …
Promoted opponents ‘hard to beat’
“But games change so quickly, it can just be a decision in the game, it might be a wonder goal, it might be a mistake, anything can happen. When you look at the games they've played, they're hard to beat at times, they're organised.
“They’ve got a lot of senior players as well. And he’s also put a new group together that's been promoted, off the back of success last season, so I expect a real tough game because of that.
"I'm certainly not going to rest on the fact that we've beaten them twice; that means absolutely nothing. I mentioned that to the players as well, we went over the pre-match analysis as we always do, we've not cut any corners just because we've played them twice.
"Looking at the games we've played against them before, I expect them to maybe do something different at times, but it's a really tough game. This fixture is always tough, and I'm not expecting it to be any different. It's about making sure the players are mentally ready for a really tough test.
"Going to Livingston, going there, the challenges it brings, the AstroTurf that we don't play on every single week, so we need to contend with that. It's certainly not an excuse. The players are ready for it.
"They have been there already this season, so it's not completely new. That's a big thing - but David Martindale will have the team ready to go, they always are.”
Addressing the challenges presented by a trip to Pittodrie, a home game against Rangers and then a tricky away day on an artificial surface all coming in the space of a working week, Gray said: “It's about making sure you are organised, you've got a plan in place very early, you know you do everything you possibly can in a three-game week.
“It's mainly about recovery, so the detail you get into the players in terms of how they want to play, and the tactical information might have to come in meetings rather or walk-throughs on the pitch rather than full training sessions.
“You're also conscious of the players that are not playing and making sure that there will be changes, whether that be from the start, whether it be earlier in the game because of energy levels maybe not being quite where they need to be.”