Why Derek McInnes isn't surprised by Hibs form surge as David Gray change earns Kilmarnock boss approval

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Derek McInnes has a reason for not being surprised by Hibs form - as he provides a derby verdict.

Derek McInnes is far from stunned by a surge in Hibs form - thanks to a change by David Gray.

The Easter Road legend is riding the crest of a wave right now after delivering a first derby win at Tynecastle since 2019. A Kye Rowles own goal and Dwight Gayle strike sealed a 2-1 win against the Jambos to have Hibs looking up at the Premiership top six rather than peering down.

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Sitting in seventh, Killie are hot on their heels in eighth and the pair collide at Easter Road on Sunday afternoon, both clubs sitting on 21 points. McInnes has been impressed by Hibs of late and his side come into the game in good spirits too after thrashing Aberdeen 4-0.

A change of shape by head coach Gray has been praised by the Kilmarnock boss who knows the quality Hibs possess. He said: “We’re always looking forward to it. We spoke about this run of fixtures, including a couple of tough away games before we played our three home games in a row.

“I think it’s important that we take the confidence from the Aberdeen result. I think it’s going to be a totally different type of game. Obviously Hibs will bounce into it, similar to ourselves. They were on the back of a derby win and they’ve really picked up recently, that’s no real surprise when you look at the calibre of player they’ve got.

“But they’ve had a little change in shape which I think has really benefited them. And fair play to their staff who’ve managed to drag a few results out of them and get a bit of confidence.

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“So there’s no doubt that we’re going to expect a tough game. But equally, I think Hibs will expect a tough game from us and they need to feel that from us, something close to Thursday will hopefully help us get a positive result.”

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