Unsung Hibs figure lands major Easter Road praise with his role in third place charge credited as pivotal

A BBC pundit has piled praise on who he feels is an unsung hero of Hibs’ rise up the Premiership table.

David Gray’s side lost 3-1 at Celtic on Saturday but they remain in the driving seat for third with two games to go this season. They are at St Mirren midweek before hosting Rangers on the final day of the campaign, looking to beat Aberdeen to a league position that could clinch league phase football next term.

Pundits on BBC Sportsound were effusive in their praise for the work of Gray and co pre match, but Celtic hero Pat Bonner was keen to stress the work of sporting director Malky Mackay. He believes the key behind the scenes figure deserves credit for standing by Gray amid his difficult run at the start of this season.

Malky Mackay earns Hibs praise

Bonner said: “Can I give a shout out for the job that Malky McKay has done in the background too? I know David Gray is the man and he has done a remarkable job and his staff and Liam Craig and those guys in the background. He needed a stable voice between himself and the owners, and the board. He was probably a week, maybe 10 days away, from getting the sack.

“You know, having spoken to Malky just about that, and it's incredible that he was able to convince the owners to stay with it and stay with it and stay with it, it's going to turn. Now he needed a bit of luck for it to turn but having someone like that helping these young coaches in the back who understands management and understands that it isn't always... you're not going to win every game and so on.

“When you're down, you need help and you need support and you need a voice and Malky knows the red lines where he doesn't have to go. He doesn't go on the training ground, he doesn't do all of that but he's between the board, the owners and been able to then give them the understanding that what they're trying to do will go in the right direction. It's too easy to just pull the plug and if you don't have a voice supporting you at that level then then you're in under severe pressure, we see it too often.”

Hibs reaction to Celtic loss

A goal from Martin Boyle put Hibs ahead at Celtic Park but the Hoops fired back with Nicolas Kuhn, Adam Idah and Reo Hatate efforts. Gray stated post-match: “I’m clearly frustrated because it’s never nice to lose games of football. I thought we carried a little bit more threat, which is important because of how we played last time we were here. I thought we started the game positively. The manner of the goals and the timings of the goals were the big sucker blow for the players today.

“To get in-front was good, I thought the shape was excellent, the effort was there from the players too, but to lose the goals before half-time was a blow. We could’ve gone in 1-0 up, but we went in 2-1 behind and that shows you the level of opposition again because if you switch off for one second, then you’ll be punished. Their second goal was a wee bit unfortunate because Boyley slipped just before it. We still have to defend much better in that moment, we know that.

“Second half I got a reaction from the players. We started brightly and had a couple of corners and chances, but that didn’t quite fall for us. The third goal was the killer. Once it goes 3-1 it became very difficult. We kept pushing and trying to get back into the game, so I can’t fault the effort of the players, but when you make mistakes in games, you’ll be punished, and we’ve said that a few times this season.”