Hibs hero steps in for sacked boss Monty - and opens up on lure of top job

Scottish Cup legend handed reins for fourth time in two-and-a-half years

Stop-gap Hibs boss David Gray believes the lure of leading the Easter Road club will make the job attractive to top-class managers. But he’s not even thinking about throwing his hat into the ring as a replacement for Nick Montgomery.

Gray was pressed into emergency service for lunchtime media duties following this morning’s sacking of Monty after eight months. He’ll take charge for the final two games of the season, starting with tomorrow night’s visit of Motherwell.

And the Scottish Cup-winning captain, starting his FOURTH stint as interim manager, said the club’s reputation for being trigger-happy in dismissing gaffers – four in two-and-a-half years – shouldn’t be off-putting to elite candidates, declaring: “It’s a fantastic job for any manager who has the desire to manage at the top level in Scotland. It has a fantastic fan base, a great infrastructure – and everybody at the club is desperate to make it successful.

“It’s always a surprise (when a manager is sacked). It’s something that has been sprung on us this morning.

“It’s never nice when anyone loses their job. You form a bond with these people and it’s a horrible position to be in.

“Being the manager of the football club, I know that means he carries the responsibility. But as a collective we’ve not been good enough.

“I don’t think it’s been through a lack of effort or people making decisions for the wrong reasons. This is fantastic football club with wonderful facilities - but that only counts for so much.

“The downfall has been on the pitch. And managers have to take responsibility for that. But the reality is we’ve underachieved – and nobody is shying away from the fact that it’s a collective. Everyone needs to be better.”

Asked directly about Hibs becoming known as a club who don’t give managers time, Gray said: “That’s a question you can ask the powers-that-be above me. That’s not for me to answer.

“I’ve purely been asked, unfortunately, to do a job and prepare the team. That’s all I’m focused on.”

On his own interest in the job, the fans’ favourite insisted: “That’s not a question for me. I’ve literally found out about the manager leaving four hours ago, and I’ve been put in this movie again – unfortunately.

“I’m so disappointed to be in this situation. And it’s not the right time at all to talk about anything else.

“It hurts when you don’t win games. When you are striving to do something and believe we can be better, that we should be better, it definitely hurts. If it didn’t hurt, you’d be in the wrong industry.

“On a personal level, there will be time for that looking forward. I’ve got a job to do now.

“It’s been a crash course in coaching. I’ve experienced a lot over the past three years, certainly not plain sailing. But you need to take positives from it and learn from these situations, recognise what has not gone well.

“I think everyone has to take responsibility, every single person at the football club. Nobody is shying away from the fact that this club has underachieved.

“The club, the fan base, they deserve better. We all have to do something about it.”

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Gray says veterans Paul Hanlon and Lewis Stevenson deserve to bow out on a high in their final home games tomorrow – but ducked questions over whether he would choose to keep a duo already told they can leave at the end of the season, saying: “That’s not a question for me at all. I’m not interested in talking about contracts, that’s nothing to do with me at all.”