Hibs boss in 'hope' admission as gaffer Gray reveals 'hurt' of Euro defeat ahead of Easter Road comeback bid
Easter Road hosts need minor miracle after losing 2-0 to FC Malisheva in Kosovo
The personal anguish was significant. But you won’t catch David Gray simply hoping that the healing power of time will work its magic.
As his team look to turn around their ailing European fortunes at Easter Road tonight, the Hibs boss will not want for either motivation or – more importantly – a sense of direction. He knows exactly what it will take to overcome the 2-0 deficit from last week’s embarrassing loss to FC Malisheva in Kosovo.
Hibs fans were furious after loss in Pristina
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Gray, who admits that he doesn’t even let his kids win at childish games, knows he’s got a dressing room full of similarly fearsome competitors. He’s also aware that, in the case of those here at this time last season, they’ve shown an ability to perform with distinction against European opposition several classes above the Kosovan side who inflicted such a wounding loss on his team.
Asked if he could draw on some of the experiences from last season, when Hibs knocked Partizan Belgrade out of the UEFA Conference League before pushing Legia Warsaw all the way in a dramatic play-off round, Gray said: “Yeah, I think it is important. I think it's important to talk about it.
“But at the same time, showing the nights in Warsaw or against Partizan and playing against that level of opposition and producing that level of performance is one thing. Then you're sort of saying, like, hoping that it's going to happen again.
“But nothing happens just by hope. You have to make sure you go and do that.
“And that's every single individual performing to the best they possibly can. Or at least put the effort in.
“You can't play well every week. Clearly, we've seen that last week that not every player was where they could be.
“But it's all about reacting. This is the benefit of football. You get the opportunity within seven days normally to try and put the last level of performance right.
“And all I can go by is what I've seen in training for the boys which is a real determination and that mindset and attitude to make sure we do everything we possibly can to turn it around. I believe they can do it.”
Prompted on whether it hurt him, as an individual, to be at the helm for such an ignominious result, Gray admitted: “Of course it does. Very much so. It’s my responsibility.
“So whether we win, lose or draw, that's on me. I'm 100% on board with that. That's what I signed up to.
“That's what every single manager deals with, the pressure of that. I thrive on that pressure. I'm okay with that.
“Of course it hurts. I'm a proud person. I want to win every single game.
“I want to win five-a-sides. I want to win whatever it might be. I hate losing at anything, to be honest.
“I don't even let my kids win at cards on holiday! So I certainly think that never leaves you, to be honest. It's certainly not going to change any time soon.”
Celtic loss to Red Imps example
There has been a trend, over the years, for Scottish clubs to slip up in those opening European encounters. Coming so early in the season, it’s not unusual for teams to get caught cold – especially, as was the case on this occasion, if they’re facing opponents with a couple of competitive fixtures under their belt.
Hibs themselves have shown that such a stumble needn’t be fatal, turning around a loss to Andorran opposition, while the example of Celtic losing to Lincoln Red Imps – only to batter the team from Gibraltar in the return leg – just after Brendan Rodgers took over is regularly cited as the ideal example of how much can change in a week.
“I think that's a really good point actually,” said Gray. ““The players are going to get stronger and benefit from that competitive 90 minutes. That's natural.
“I've already said that last week’s match was the third competitive game for our opposition. It doesn't matter. That's where they are in their season.
“Our players will certainly benefit from that 90 minutes. The ones that played it will get stronger from that.
“But there's so much improvement to come because of our level in that game. It is about that reaction from the players. That's what I expect to see.
“The benefits of playing the opposition once and then replaying them without anybody in between is you can fully prepare for what you're going into - and where we believe we'll let ourselves down.
“So all the areas in which we think we can be better in terms of that intent to go forward, passing forward, being a bit braver on the ball and ultimately showing more quality. That was the biggest thing that really let us down on the day, our quality and our decision making.”
Gray expects Malisheva to slow the game down at every opportunity. His job is to make sure Hibs crank up the pace – without allowing their attacking instincts to veer into recklessness.
“It's not a case of you just bombing it forward and everybody trying to score right from the first minute,” he said. “The first goal doesn't need to be in the first five minutes of the game.
“Patience, discipline, that's another thing as well. I think that's something that we need to contend with. So concentrating on the job at hand.
“A fast start, everybody wants that. And we know their mindset will be trying to slow the game down as much as you can.
“So if there are periods of the game slowing down, not to get frustrated by that. Stick to what you've practised. Stick to what you know, what you're good at. And try and speed the game up at every opportunity when it's on to do that.”