Hibs playing without fear despite high stakes as gaffer Gray banks on swagger to save season
Hibs boss David Gray believes his players have shed the fear factor that kept them from carrying a proper attacking threat to opponents at the start of the season. And he’s stressed his 100 per cent belief in the ability of this squad to dig themselves out of a deep hole.
Currently sitting 12th in the league but able to leapfrog Ross County with a home win this afternoon, Gray’s men bagged just their second league win of the season by beating Motherwell at Fir Park a fortnight ago. They followed that up with a 3-0 loss at Celtic Park – and a performance that belied the final score.
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Gray, who is leaning towards giving veteran former Newcastle striker Dwight Gayle his first start since October to cover for the injured Mykola Kuharevich, said he’d been careful not to ‘demoralise’ players during the most difficult run of results. With so much at stake today, he wants to see his team perform without inhibitions.
“I think confidence is a big thing, but I think you also have to show the players exactly how we've played in the last few games,” said Gray, the former skipper adding: “I think they have played with a belief and played really well at times.
“I think it is a case of going over the game, showing the good points within it, showing the learnings within it, where we could have improved, but also demonstrate exactly why they play for this club. When we do the right things, and we play to a level, we are a good side.
“These players are all good players, and I think you've seen that in recent weeks, that the level of performances have come up. We've been much more of an attacking threat, and individuals have stepped up and done well within games.
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Hide Ad“And then when you talk about the mistakes, I think it is important that you show players. But it's not a case of trying to demoralise them by showing them the mistakes, it's a case of this is what you could have done better in this situation.
“Or actually have the conversation with them, and ask them what they think they could have done better, what would you do again in that situation? Everybody learns differently, so it's about going through the process.
“But they also know that I've still got 100% belief and faith in them, that when they go on the pitch, that they're able to go and express themselves. Because that's something you always want to see.”
Gray said he saw signs of promise even in the loss to Celtic, comparing the performance with back-to-back defeats to the champions earlier in the season as he said: “I know the scoreline doesn't reflect that, and I'm not coming away from that, because we still lost the game 3-0. But I think that was definitely a better Hibs team than it was at the start of the season, just purely on performance.
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Hide Ad“That comes naturally with us having played longer together, having more time together, players getting fitter, all the things that come with that. So we’re improving. But it'll be a difficult test against Ross County the weekend, they're going to force you to defend at times as well with the way they play, so you need to be ready for that.”
Without two natural centre forwards in Kuharevich and long-term injury victim Kieron Bowie, Hibs are likely to turn to Gayle to lead the line today, Gray saying: “If you've got someone like Gayley, who's played as many games as he has at the very highest level, knows the role inside out, it's definitely something that when you've got that level of knowledge and experience that you can rely on. It's great to have in your squad.
“I think you've even seen that when he's come on in games, he's done well. Obviously, Martin Boyle can play up there, Elie Youan plays up there, Junior Hoilett, Josh Campbell, Harry McKirdy, they're all forward-thinking players that can all play up there, so I still have the options for it, which is great.”