'No excuses' - Hibs Scottish Cup exit reaction as David Gray defends team selection for Dunfermline disaster

Shattered Hibs boss David Gray insisted he wouldn’t be looking for excuses as he blasted his player for falling below minimum standards in their shock Scottish Cup exit to Neil Lennon’s Dunfermline. And the Easter Road gaffer defended his team selection after seeing changes to the starting XI, including handing Joe Newell his first start in over a year, backfire with a sub-par performance.

Speaking after today’s 1-0 loss at East End Park, Gray said: “I could try and explain and try and come up with reasons and talk about chances we missed and opportunities and decisions. The reality of the situation is we're out of the cup - and I can't stand here and say that we've done well enough to ensure that we're in the next round.

“And I think that's very fair. Congratulations to Dunfermline. But from our point of view, everything I spoke about this week, everything we talk about in terms of expectation, we fell below the standards and we're out of the cup because of it.”

Asked about the impact of both Kieron Bowie and Thibault Klidje missing golden chances to put Hibs ahead before Dunfermline struck in injury time, with away sub Miguel Chaiwa credited with an own goal, Gray stressed: “I don't want to get drawn into that and make excuses. Because I've said that many times this season, yes, there are big moments in the game.

“I would say Dunfermline had a big chance straight after half-time as well. So I'm not just going to say: ‘Well, we should have done this.’

“I could talk about decisions. I thought there were a few decisions that maybe didn't quite go our way, but that would just be excuses at this stage.

“I think it's really tough to take at this moment in time because of the expectation, because of the demand that we put on the group all the time. And we know we've not got into the next round of the cup and that was the only objective today.

“The performance is always secondary in cup competitions. You need to get yourself in the next round and we've not done it.”

Gray, responding to Lennon saying that he “got a wee bit of a lift” when he saw a Hibs starting XI including Newell, club record signing Thibault Klidje and Rocky Bushiri on his return from AFCON duty, declared: “Three full internationals into the team and your club captain coming into the starting XI. I think my team is strong.

“I have tough decisions every single week and the 11 that goes on the pitch has got responsibility to play at a certain level because then the squad's then strong enough to come in off the back of it. So in terms of getting lifts, getting whatever, I think everyone looks at their own situation.

“Every player that gets the opportunity to play for this football club has got responsibility to play to the best of their ability.”

Sending a message to the near-5000 travelling fans who left so disappointed, Gray – who said it was too early to make a call on the injury that forced Josh Mulligan off after half an hour - insisted: “Listen, you never accept it. You can never accept going out in the cup.

“And I think I mean that with the greatest of respect to them because congratulations to them. They scored the goal and deserved to go through. I can't stand here and say we did, which is extremely tough to take.

“I know we'll have, I think it'll be 5,000 supporters that came that are all going home disappointed and rightly so. I need to own that. Players need to own that and we need to bounce back as quickly as we possibly can because we are, I've said it as long as I've been at this club, an incredibly well-supported club.

“The passion's there, the togetherness is there. And unfortunately today we've let them down.”