Bullish Hibs boss David Gray backs himself amid heat as he lifts lid on pressure and family sanctuary

Under-pressure Hibs head coach David Gray retains full confidence that he can turn his embattled team around ahead of Sunday’s huge Edinburgh derby against Hearts at Easter Road.

Hibs go into the high-noon clash with the Jambos sitting bottom of the table after eight games on five points, having won just one league match all season. Hearts are above them in 11th on goal difference, but go into the first derby of the season on the back of two victories under new manager Neil Critchley, the most recent being Thursday’s 2-0 win over Omonoia in Europe.

Conversely, Hibs are still smarting from last weekend’s 3-2 defeat by Dundee United following the concession of two goals in stoppage time. Their campaign so far has been plagued by losing late goals and individual mistakes, but despite the heat intensifying on 36-year-old Gray, who was appointed this summer, the club legend still believes he will get it right at Easter Road.

Hibs head coach David Gray. | SNS Group

“We know where we need to get better,” said Gray. “And I think that's something that you can talk about as much as you want. I can train it as much as we want. I see it in training all the time. It is about turning performances into results. That's what I get paid to do is to improve the players and to make the players better.

“But also the most important thing is to win games of football and the players are exactly the same. You don't just get paid to play, you get paid to win. I think that's the big thing and it's a reflection on everybody.

“Everyone is hurting at the moment and trying their best to rectify the position we find ourselves in now. But I don't have any doubts over the ability or exactly what we're doing at the moment. It's just making sure we're better during moments of adversity.

“And when you're on a run like this, when things are going against you and you're being punished for mistakes that we're making, it's doubling down and making sure you're working even harder to rectify these things when the mistakes come up. That's what we're focusing on at the moment.”

Hibs’ only Premiership victory this season came last month against St Johnstone, with two draws against Dundee and Kilmarnock. However, Gray feels he has seen enough for his players during matches this season to give him hope that a corner can be turned.

Gray addresses the media ahead of Sunday's derby. | SNS Group

Gray continued: “Has there been enough progression in the games to make us think that we're getting to somewhere? Have there been flaws within it in terms of the last couple of weeks, how it's went against us? 100 per cent I would be a lot more concerned if I didn't see a win coming at any time or thinking that not really knowing which way to turn. So from that point of view, I'm confident in myself.”

Gray understands that he is already under pressure just a few months into his tenure. He is the fifth head coach at the club since 2021 and has experienced good and bad times as a player at Hibs since his arrival in 2013.

“I don't think you ever just shrug it off,” Gray said. “I've dealt with pressure as a player, as captain here, even during difficult times. So that probably gives you a little bit of an expectation of what to expect. But I think I try not to overthink it.

“I appreciate everyone has an opinion, especially in this sport. I think that's something that everybody has and rightly so. That's absolutely fine. You're in the public eye so you're always going to be under scrutiny. I can't defend where we are in the league. So I'm not going to sit here and look for excuses and say we could be here and we could be there.

“I understand exactly where we are. One thing, I've not got any social media so I don't really listen to the noise. I don't believe in the noise. One thing I do say is I'm always trying to back myself.

“I need to stick to what I believe in. Seeing what I'm working on every day, starting to come out in the players and making sure that we get results, because that's what I'm going to be judged by. I see everything you're going through at the moment.”

Gray says he is already evolving and developing as a head coach during this challenging period. “Oh, I think you learn a lot about yourself during adversity,” he admitted. “Now, would I rather it was the other way and it was plain sailing and we were winning every week? Of course you would. But I believe it will make me better in the long term.

The Hibs boss knows the fans are hurting. | SNS Group

“I think it will make the players better in the long term as well. But the only reason you do that is by working harder and sticking to what you believe in and sticking together as a group.

“I've got no doubt in my coaching staff and what we're doing every day. But I'm also not deluded in the fact that it won't just turn just by hoping it's going to turn. We need to keep doing everything we can and make sure we go over and above to change that as quickly as we can.”

Gray takes sanctuary from his life back home with wife Hayley and his three kids, who are aged six, eight and 11 - believing that time with them “brings him back down to earth” amid the stresses of football management.

“I've got three young children,” he added. “I get frustrated with them at times, they get frustrated with me on the computer at times. I think the best person to ask would probably be my wife, to see how I am. Am I more quiet, am I more crabbit? I don't know if that's possible.

“My youngest, she’s not interested in football. she’s six, she understands it and she thinks she knows about football but she doesn’t really. She will just say, ‘why did you not win today?’ And that’s it.

“My other two are a bit different. My son is football daft and goes to all the games, loves it and probably does not quite understand the magnitude of it at the moment and doesn’t understand why people are shouting at me

“It's quite good that the two older ones really like the football, whereas Ada doesn't. She quickly brings me back down to earth by just being ‘dad, when you coming?’ As soon as you get in, it's Barbies or whatever it might be.

“It quickly brings you back down to earth and makes you realise exactly what my job is, which is to provide for them of course and do everything I can to protect them.”