Is Hibs nicking Dons ace McGrath first of many pre-contract deals? Gray talks 'ideal world' recruitment

The early acquisition of Jamie McGrath is proof that Hibs are putting in hard work on recruitment behind the scenes, according to David Gray. And the gaffer says he hopes to see more key pieces of a massive summer rebuild fall into place before the end of the season.

The Easter Road club announced this morning that Aberdeen attacking midfielder McGrath – a long-time target for a series of Hibs managers – had signed a pre-contract agreement that will kick in at the end of the current campaign. The former St Mirren and Dundee United star, who has 13 caps for the Republic of Ireland, will be under contract with Hibs until 2029.

With over a dozen players out of contract this summer, Gray has spoken openly about the prospect of a major turnover in personnel. Having signed 12 players in his first transfer window as manager, the manager made do with just a single new recruit – Alasana Manneh – in January.

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But McGrath could be just the first of several pre-contract deals done, all going well, Gray saying: “I spoke about it during the window, that it almost feels like because we're not doing anything right now, that nothing was really happening. There's always things that are happening.

"Naturally, when players have got six months to go on their contract, that can happen. Conversations can happen.

“And I always said that, yes, we were looking to try and bring the right people in in January to try and strengthen the group. But we're always looking longer term as well, knowing that there's a lot of players out of the contract, a lot of players that might move on, depending on their situation.

"And I think this is a good way to be, as you highlight what I've always said about being proactive, the hard work that always goes on in the background. And more so when the window closes.

“Everyone talks about it a lot more when the window closes, but the constant communication and the hard work in the background, trying to move the club forward all the time. And we’re obviously delighted to announce something like this as early as this, especially the calibre of player.

“I think if you were asking the dream scenario as a coach, you would want to come back day one of pre-season and have a fully fit squad, everybody ready to go and not have to change a single thing! That would be the ideal situation, which is never ever going to happen.

“We know that. It's about being proactive and trying to look about what might happen in your squad.

"Players you might look to bring in areas in which you think you need to improve or you're going to lose players because they move on to other things. You always need to be proactive. And I think that's something that we're doing really well at the moment.

"We're identifying areas in which we feel something might come up or something might have to be done in certain situations. As I've always touched on as well, we've got a lot of top quality players in our squad that will attract attention.

“There are players that are currently out of the contract at the end of the season that are playing exceptionally well for us at the moment. So there's a lot of conversations to be had right across the board.”

Top-class signing pinched from Scottish Premiership rival

Asked if Hibs had made a statement by pinching a player from a perceive top-flight rival, Gray said: "I think I'd understand why it would look that way. From my point of view, it's just great to bring a player of that calibre into your football club, regardless of who they play for or what they've done previously.

“It's a brilliant addition to the squad and will be come next season. I'm very conscious I don't really want to talk about someone that is very much still an Aberdeen player between now and the end of the season.

"So I'm very respectful and mindful of that. I'd like to focus mainly on the players that are affecting us between now and the end of the season, if possible."

Chance to build on Celtic win - and overtake Dundee United

Hibs can leapfrog Dundee United into fourth place in the Scottish Premiership with a win at Tannadice tomorrow night. Gray, looking to extend his team’s unbeaten run to 14 games in all competitions, wants to strike the right balance between confidence and complacency on the back of Saturday’s statement win over Celtic at Easter Road.

"Yeah, we spoke about it a lot,” he said, adding: “It'll be a completely different game, a different challenge.

"But it'll still be a huge challenge all the same. I think that's something we've experienced now for the length of time we've been undefeated. I think it's one defeat in 16, since the last time Celtic beat us.

“So the run of form we've been on throughout that period, there's always been huge games. Every game's felt massive this season. Can you go again? Can we go again? And we've responded really well to that.”

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