Hibs players warned their places are at risk after Celtic errors - 'the squad is going to get stronger'

David Gray warned his players their places are at risk after defensive frailties contributed to Hibs being knocked out of the Premier Sports Cup by Celtic.

Gray will continue to look to add to his squad between now and the end of the window, believing those in the team have not done enough to justify staying there.

Hibs have lost three games on the spin, conceding eight goals in the process, and Gray knows that’s a pattern that can’t continue.

Hibs manager David Gray speaks to Jordan Obita during the Premier Sports Cup defeat at Celtic. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)

The manager said: “It’s very frustrating. I feel like I'm repeating myself because of what happened last weekend [also against Celtic]. First time Celtic go forward, there’s an individual error and we lose the goal. We took a bit of confidence and belief from our goal and started to get forward a bit more.

“We knew we needed to start better in the second half. I thought we did up until a point and then an individual error, a lapse. One mistake becomes two mistakes, we lose a goal again and from that point I thought Celtic were completely dominating again.

“We slipped back into that same mode again and right now it's just not acceptable for us. One thing we can't continue to do is keep making mistakes.

“There’s going to be more competition for places now. The squad is going to get stronger as the days and weeks go on. Everyone who is playing at the moment - has the level been good enough? No. We’re not at the level right now so I can't keep picking the same players that keep making mistakes all the time. We know it has been a tough start but we keep making it tougher for ourselves.”

Hibs face Dundee at home next weekend and then Kilmarnock away and Gray knows how significant those matches will be.

He added: “We’ve got two massive games now before the international break. We need to start putting points on the board as quickly as possible.

“Nobody makes mistakes on purpose at all. Of course that happens. That can be down to a number of things. It can be the decision at the time, it could be a lack of confidence, it could be a variety of things. It's certainly not just down to technical ability. But we can't keep making mistakes.”