Hibs leaders land ultimate mark of respect from fellow managers as David Gray nominated for top award

Hibs paid David Gray and Grant Scott have both been nominated for PFA Scotland Manager of the Year awards.

Gray endured a tough start to his first season as a permanent head coach but has turned things around to put the club in control for finishing third in this year’s Premiership. He has equalled Hibs’ longest post-war unbeaten run in the top flight and has picked up three separate Scottish Premiership Manager of the Month awards.

He competes with Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers and Falkirk’s John McGlynn. Scott is nominated with Hibs Women in contention to win the SWPL title in remarkable fashion, fighting off challenges from the likes of Celtic, Rangers and Glasgow City currently.

Hibs pair nominated for Manager of the Year

His side have been in magnificent form throughout the term and are two points ahead of second-placed Rangers. He has been nominated for the SWPL award alongside Rangers Women’s Head Coach Jo Potter, Glasgow City Head Coach Leanne Ross, and Motherwell Women Head Coach Paul Brownlie. The winners will be unveiled at the PFA Scotland Awards dinner at the Hilton Hotel, Glasgow, on May 4th after nominations made by the gaffers.

Billy Brown, the Chairman of the Managers and Coaches Association, said: “I’d like to congratulate all the nominees – they’re all extremely worthy candidates and I’m delighted to see them achieve such success this year. All three SPFL managers deserve great credit for the jobs they’ve done, and it’s fantastic to see two former winners nominated again in Brendan and John alongside someone beginning to make his way in management in David.

“The consistency that Brendan has produced at Celtic is impressive, and their European form was particularly excellent earlier in the season. Having known John for so many years, firstly as a coach at Musselburgh Windsor before Jim Jefferies and I took him to Hearts, it’s fantastic that he just keeps producing the goods at Falkirk. I’m particularly pleased for David Gray, after he had such a difficult start to the season with Hibs. He has shown great patience and resilience to improve the team’s form and results and deserves a lot of credit.

“Last year we were pleased to see SWPL managers and coaches nominated for the first time, underlining the continuing growth and success of women’s football in Scotland. The fact that there’s four nominated this year shows how competitive it’s become at the top. Grant Scott continues to prove how good a coach he is, his knowledge of Scottish women’s football is second to none, and it would be fitting if he could cap a great year’s work with Hibs lifting the title.

“Jo thoroughly deserved to win the award a year ago; this season she’s just built on that work, and for Rangers to be in with a chance of a treble is very impressive. I’m delighted for Leanne to be nominated – she seems to have transitioned smoothly into coaching and management after a terrific playing career, and Glasgow City have had an excellent season, so she certainly deserves to be in the mix.

“It’s the same for Paul Brownlie, who has achieved a great deal at Motherwell on more limited resources, and to get them into the top six is a testament to his good work. I wish all the nominees the best of luck, and they are all deserving of praise and recognition”.