'Story of our season' - Hibs boss laments 'big moments' as Celtic loss returns Gray's men to drop zone

Hibs boss David Gray highlighted the recurring failing of missed chances as he confessed to mixed emotions in the wake of a frustrating 3-0 loss at Celtic Park. But he said the performance of his players, on a day when Myko Kuharevich missed TWO one-on-ones and skipper Joe Newell squandered a golden opportunity to beat Man of the Match Kasper Schmeichel, gives him absolute confidence in their ability to escape the drop zone.

Hibs dropped to the foot of the table as a result of losing to the champions, who had Schmeichel to thank for keeping them in the game early on. For Gray, the one failing in his team was obvious.

“I can't remember a Hibs team coming and creating so many clear-cut chances, so much so that their goalkeeper wins Man of the Match,” he said, adding: “So I think that's a reflection on how well the players have done for periods in the game as well.

“The frustration comes from having so many clear-cut chances. And it's probably a reflection on how our season's been so far. I know for large periods, we've been the better side in games. I know there's players in there that can all handle the ball. Everything I ask the players to do, come into a real difficult, hostile place, with the press, Celtics press especially, with how aggressive it is.

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“It takes courage to be able to play under that pressure. And I thought the players have done it. They've done everything we asked them to do.

“But the bit that's lacking is that clinical edge at the end. And that's probably been a bit of the story of our season.

“I think back to going to Ibrox and playing so well there, and not taking chances at the right times there. And I think throughout the course of the season, that's probably been what's let us down.

“It's been the story of our season. Not scoring enough goals when the opportunities come.

“And conceding too many goals at our end. I know that sounds very, very basic, very simple. But when you see the level of performance throughout the season, it does also give me the belief that we will turn this around.

“There's a real disappointment there, which doesn't always happen coming here because it's a real difficult place to come. History tells you that. There's not a Hibs team won here since 2010.

“So it's always going to be a huge challenge. But I think the players deserve a lot of credit for their effort.

“And I think the disappointment's there because they genuinely thought that if you take your chances in the game, that game could be so much different. And I think we could have come away with a positive result.

“It’s quite difficult to digest at the moment, if I'm being honest. We knew the challenge coming here was going to be a real tough test.

“But it's mixed emotions because of what I'm asking the players to do, the number of chances we created. And the way we played throughout the game, for large periods of the game, showing that bravery and composure on the ball, which I asked for, was great to see.

“The issue is we came away losing the game 3-0, so I'm never going to come away accepting the fact that we've lost the game. But it also shows the effort and desire and how far we've come that we are actually coming away from a place like this disappointed. We need to come away from this result, dust ourselves down as quickly as we can, and keep that confidence up and take that into Ross County.”

Kuharevich departed with an apparent groin injury soon after missing the second of his chances, Gray reporting: “Hopefully it's just nothing major. The fact he went back onto the pitch and had a little run around probably tells me that it's not, hopefully, too serious. But at the same time, he was then having to come off.

“And then the mental side to that, I'm sure he's going to be frustrated. He's a goal scorer. That's what his job is. He's a centre-forward.

“So he's missed a few big chances today at big moments in the game, especially a place like this, where you need to learn from that quickly. But there's no point feeling sorry for yourself. You just need to get back on the grass as quick as you can and start working on these areas.

“They are big chances. I think then when you reverse that, Kyogo has one one-on-one when he comes on and it's a goal, which is why he plays at the very top level of this league and plays in the Champions League for Celtic.

“So it is about learning. It's about being calm in that final action. I think it's the hardest thing in the game to do, is to score a goal. Of course it is. If everybody was good at it, we certainly wouldn't be sitting here.

“Obviously, you have to have a certain game plan to play against Celtic. You know you're not going to have anywhere near as much of the ball. They're going to force you to defend for large periods.

“And when they do get chances, that's the flip side to it. They get one chance early on in the game and it's a goal straight away. Whereas we had numerous clear-cut chances, especially early in the game, the one-on-one early in the game.

“Just big moments, I think. And I think that's probably the feeling at the moment.

“The bit that was lacking from us was in front of goal, but at least everything else was there. And I do take positives from that, and confidence from that, that the players can then put that together now and really kick on now for the rest of the season.

“Because, again, for all the positive things in the game, we've lost a game 3-0, and we're now bottom league again. So the attention changes quickly now towards Ross County, because we know we need to pick up points and quickly.”