Hibs urged to avoid 'utterly disastrous' boss call as Sam Allardyce trick can help obtain 'something special'

Pat Nevin has urged Hibs to stick by head coach David Gray for the long haul - as the boyhood Hibee senses the club are on the cusp of ‘something special.’

Hibs dropped from third to fifth in the Premiership during season 25/26 amid Gray’s second act as permanent gaffer. They gained 57 points over the season and have clinched Conference League second round qualifiers, just one fewer than their tally from the previous term, after a final day loss to Motherwell kept them off fourth place.

City rivals Hearts pushing for the title has cast a shadow over the season for some Hibs fans and debate has stemmed over whether more could have been had from a talented group of players. Inconsistency dogged the team at times, shown fully in the final week, where big wins away to Falkirk and Rangers were followed up with a flat home loss versus Motherwell. Former Scotland and Chelsea winger Nevin reckons club icon Gray deserves plenty of credit for his work to date in Leith as a deeper dive shows opting for anyone but him to lead the club forward would be a perilous endeavour.

Hibs 25/26 season assessed

“You would underestimate Hibernian at your peril,” said Nevin. “If you have a look just below the surface, they actually had a really good season. I was looking at some stats, just checking it out for the Hibees The last 14 games of the season, they've lost three. And that sounds quite good, doesn't it? One of those games was against Celtic and they had 10 men. One of these games was against Hearts, they had nine men for a large percentage of the game and these were both lost by a single goal.

“The only other game lost was the final one this season against Motherwell, 0-1. They are so close. So close. You watch the way Hearts have done it this season, it's been the other way around. They've nicked all those little games 1-0. Now I'm not saying Hibs are as good as Hearts this season, you wouldn't dare say that. Even a Hibee like myself, but they're not that far away. And if David Gray acquires well during this summer, Hibs could be the next ones alongside Hearts to try and get in between Celtic and Rangers.

“I just hope no one panics because they finish fifth in the end because they got beat by Motherwell. If they'd beaten Motherwell, they would have finished fourth. I hope people don't say, alright, we need something new to get us to the next level. That, I think, would be utterly disastrous. David Gray's done a great job and he's building something special. I think Hibs has been a good season. It was close to being a great season but I like what he's building.”

Who could Hibs sign this summer transfer window?

Nevin reckons Hibs can lean into a tip he was told by former Bolton and West Ham United boss Sam Allardyce in signing more experienced pros who still have something to give. Gray did deploy that this term with defender Grant Hanley and it’s also something Hibs have opted for up front in particular. Dwight Gayle and Adam Le Fondre have both come to Easter Road in recent times, after extensive playing careers in England, aiding the forward line with their goalscoring know-how. Loans may be key but that experienced approach could see Hibs back in the fight for places above them according to Nevin.

“Players to build around, I would look at it in a different way,” added the pundit in association with BetSelect. “My way would be, there's been a period where we've had to get loan players in. That's one of the things in Scottish football, top level Scottish football, is loaning players in. Sometimes players have been top level players but they come here at the end of their career. I think Grant Hanley's been a classic example of getting a player in, not loaning this time, but end of the career and get a few right good years out of them. Hibs have had to do that.

“They've done it often with forwards recently and it's given the team a real boost. I think those players for next season, whoever they are because I don't know who they are, whoever they are may well be the answer to whether Hibs can get that little step further. Maybe get fourth or chase for third place in the league next season. If you can get two or three of them in that have been high level, probably goal scorers as well, they might be the ones. The group and the squad looks good to me. I remember the guy who used to do this was Sam Allardyce. Sam was the best at this at Bolton many years ago and I talked to Sam about it at real length.

“He used to talk about in terms of getting your car redone. He couldn't afford a new supercar but I can go and get an old clapped out one and do it up. An older one that's in decent nick and then do it up and get a couple of right good years out of it. It's not more complicated than that. You can do that, especially in the SPFL. It's not of the quality of the English Premiership so there's players out there you can do that with.”

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