Hibs can send raging Rangers fans mad with frustration by learning to love 'hostile environment' of Ibrox

Embrace the animosity. Learn to love the foaming torrents of abuse tumbling down from all but one tiny corner of the ground. Feel the seethe – and turn it to your own advantage.

The fact that Rangers have lost their last four games at Ibrox, succumbing to teams as disparate as Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce and Callum Davidson’s Queen’s Park along the way, definitely gives this afternoon’s visit of Hibs a certain extra something. An almost perceptible increasing of the atmospheric pressure down Govan way, for starters.

Yes, the Light Blues may well have been revitalised – or certainly re-energised – by the appointment of Barry Ferguson as interim boss. And we shouldn’t forget that the 2-0 loss to Fenerbahce, on the night, was swiftly followed by penalty shoot-out scenes that saw Rangers barrel into the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

But there are certain immutable truths understood by any visiting team pitching up at Ibrox. The first and most important of these being that, if you can possibly find a way to drive 50,000 home fans to the brink of despair, a fair few will leap straight into the abyss, raging all the way to the bottom …

Hibs boss David Gray, pulled up on why he often says he especially enjoyed games at Ibrox in his playing days, laughed as he admitted: “I don’t know. I say I enjoyed it. We don't win there that often, either. So, you’re kind of saying you enjoy it when you lose.

“But I think it's just, you know, a proper traditional stadium. The history. The football club. Everything. Big club in Scotland. Big club in the world, on the world football stage.

“So I think, you know, going there in front of 50,000 people, there’s actually something about the fact that 50,000 people don't want you to win. So, being the underdog, going there with that attitude, you are trying to prove all those people wrong. Or trying to cause an upset. Something that used to spur me on.

“So, that's the message to the players. And it's a great place to go and win if you can do it.”

Gray was still a first-teamer the last time Hibs beat Rangers at Ibrox, back in 2018. They did the double over the home side in Govan that season, although the fullback only saw a minute of action over both fixtures.

A volatile atmosphere to be conquered

The former captain, his own personal footballing story forever associated with one famous win over Rangers at Hampden in 2016, doesn’t pretend to have all the answers about what it takes to upset the odds at Ibrox. But he’s got some fairly straightforward theories.

“I think you need to start the game well,” he said, adding: “That's clear. And I know every game is the same.

“But I think when you're at a place like that, when it's a hostile environment, a volatile environment, you need to try and get a foothold in the game as early as you can. And try and quieten the crowd down. And try and almost turn them against them, if you can.

“Now I know that's not easy. But we have to try and frustrate people. To do that, you need to be brave on the ball. You need to be able to play.

“You need to be able to play under pressure. And then when the chances do come along, you need to take them.

“I know that's self-explanatory. But I think they don't come along as often in these games.

“Rangers will have spells when they're going to have a lot of the ball. So you need to be able to defend. You need to be structured. Organised.

“And as I've already said, every player needs to play to the best of their ability. But if we do that, we know we're a really good side. And if we can get to that level, we're very hard to beat.”

Gray, aware that his team can take a major step towards securing third place – and potentially guaranteeing themselves UEFA group stage football – with a victory today, added: “We're certainly going in there in with a game plan to try and win the game. We can't go into the game in any better frame of mind. From where we've been to where we are now, having come through that really tough start, we were bottom of the league on the seventh of December, I think.

“So it shows you the run of form we’ve been on and how consistent the players have been. Which is full credit to them.

“The players are buying into it. Massively. You hear it all the time around the dressing room, especially before games. And that’s a testament to the group, and how close they are. I see it every day in training.

“That's something that, during the difficult times, I've said a lot about. What kept me going as well was how close the group is. How together they are. And how desperate they are to be successful.

“And I think we've given ourselves an unbelievable opportunity now. It’s about finishing the job off now.”

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Wingback Jordan Obita, last season’s double Player of the Year winner currently deputising for the injured Nicky Cadden, believes Hibs have a chance to put Rangers on the back foot from the start today – and use the passion of their own fans against them.

“That's the pressure when you're playing for a massive club and you've got 50,000 plus people there who's going to be on your back - and you've got to perform every single game,” said Obita, the defender adding: “Hopefully we can knock their confidence, and we can get something tomorrow.

“As the away team, it's probably less pressure than playing at home. But if we can't get them to turn, then obviously put more pressure on them and hopefully make them make more mistakes and our confidence can grow.”

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