'His last game for Celtic was my last game for Hibs - I just didn't know it!' Gray exclusive on 'Broony' link

The last time David Gray and Scott Brown faced off against each other as players, it was the end of an era for both men. Even if Gray wasn’t quite aware of it at the time.

The Hibs boss, thrilled to be going up against a famous former Hibee and coaching classmate after being drawn against Brown’s Ayr United in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup, revealed: “You know the two of us finished playing around about the same time. In fact, the last game he played for Celtic was the last game I played for Hibs - which I didn't know at the time!

“So yeah, the very last game back in 2021, it was his last game for Celtic. And I didn't know at the time it was going to be my last game for Hibs, but that was the last time I played - which was a while ago now right enough.

“He went up to Aberdeen, played went into the coaching side there, took his opportunity to go down south, and then he's back up coaching at Ayr United at the moment, doing really well. Yeah, he's on his way up right now.

“If you look at the younger coaches coming through at the moment, ex-players now getting opportunities, like Kevin Thomson who got an opportunity at Kelty Hearts, you know, there are a lot of younger managers now stepping up. That's obviously my era now, they're all coming towards the end of their career, and naturally the next step, if you want to stay in the game, is coaching. I'll start to see more and more of them now because it's my era that's finishing.”

Revealing how is own personal relationship with Brown had developed as both found themselves enrolled in the same class of coaches pursuing UEFA’s top technical qualification, Gray said: “Yeah, I know him well, obviously from playing against him and then probably more so now he's on the same coaching course as me at the minute actually. We’re doing our Pro License together and because of that as you get on the courses together you start to speak about things.

“I was really close to Steven Whittaker when he was here, so that's his assistant manager, so it'll be good to see them. I'm sure they'll look forward to the game themselves, it's a good draw for them, you know getting a Premier League team at home for them, but it's an opportunity for us to try and progress in the Cup.

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“Scott played in my testimonial, as well – and he could probably still play now, to be fair. He’s super fit. I remember coming away from the game thinking he could still play if he wanted, to a certain level.

“Yeah, it's a good draw. As soon as it came out, a lot of people spoke about it straight away, it's an interesting tie, they made the connection straight away with Scott Brown obviously. But as far as we're concerned it's the next opponent in the Cup and an opportunity for us to try and progress - and we'll be making sure we do everything we can to try and do that.”