Hibs are happier but David Gray remains in precarious position as latest Marv v Youan ding-dong addressed

There are no dull moments at Hibs right now, no meaningless matches. The Easter Road side may have put a sticking plaster on their wounds earlier in the week but the bleeding is yet to stop.

However, the Hibernian Training Centre was a happier place on Friday lunchtime as head coach David Gray addressed the media. Unlike Monday, when the 36-year-old looked downcast previewing the Aberdeen clash in the wake of a 4-1 defeat by Dundee, Gray had rosier cheeks. Tuesday’s 3-3 draw, and the dramatic stoppage-time nature of the result, appears to have reinvigorated those at Hibs.

That’s what a 96th-minute leveller from Rocky Bushiri against an in-form side can do, even if it materially doesn’t change the fact that Hibs are bottom of the Premiership. Also on nine points, Hearts are ahead of their city rivals on goal difference but given the Jambos don’t play until Sunday against Aberdeen, Hibs can go above them with a draw at Motherwell on Sunday. A victory could take them up to tenth, depending on how Kilmarnock do against Dundee. The margins remain thin.

Hibs head coach David Gray reported a happier return to training this week. | SNS Group

There was enough evidence against Aberdeen to suggest that this Hibs team is fighting for Gray. They came back from behind not once but twice and their performance did not reflect an outfit that has downed tools for its manager.

Yet the fact remains that Hibs have only won once in 14 league matches all season. If Tuesday was a baby step in the right direction for Gray and his players, they are required to back it up with a win at Fir Park to get a leap of faith - at board level and from the agitated fans.

When the Hibs hierarchy issued its vote of confidence for Gray at the start of this month’s international break, the requirement was an upturn in fortunes over a three-match period including Dundee, Aberdeen and this trip to Fir Park. Anything other than a win gives the directors another quandary, just a month ahead of the transfer window opening, when Hibs are likely to recruit in their bid to avoid relegation. Despite the size and ambition of the club, Hibs are frankly fighting the drop. Wins are imperative.

Gray reported a chirpier camp after the midweek exertions. “Certainly a much more positive feeling coming back into work, that's for sure,” the 36-year-old said. “We've been on the receiving end of what happened in the game too many times this season.

“So for it to be reversed and have a little bit of a good feeling at the end of the game was certainly something that the players deserved on the night. They need to remember that feeling and then take that into the game at the weekend.

“They have been questioned a lot about character and mentality in recent weeks, and rightly so; I think it's not something we've sat here and tried to defend. But that's definitely how we answer the critics, that's for sure.

Rocky Bushiri's late leveller changed the mood at Easter Road. | SNS Group

“We need to use that as a turning point in the season. You can't just do that once, it's about backing it up, because where we find ourselves in the league, it is about not just doing it once, it's about backing it up now.”

To do that, it is not just about solving the individual errors that have plagued Hibs’ seasons. They also need to score more goals, even if they bagged three in midweek. They came from a deflected Joe Newell effort, a Nicky Cadden free-kick and Bushiri prodding in as an emergency striker as they chased a late equaliser. The forward players need to contribute more.

At least Hibs can take some heart from Elie Youan’s performance against Aberdeen, with the flamboyant yet frustrating Frenchman approaching somewhere near his best level. Youan was named man of the match and took to Instagram to show off his award to ex-Hibs midfielder Marvin Bartley, who had criticised him for doing keepy-uppies while Jordan Obita was sent off against Dundee.

Asked about the latest exchange between the duo, Gray commented: “Listen, if I'm being really honest, the social media side to it, I think Adam [Tomlinson, Hibs’ communications manager] told me about it, so I've got no social media. To be honest, I've got far too much on my mind at the moment to be worrying about two people moaning on social media.

“I think as long as it stays respectful and professional, and I'm getting the best out of the player on the pitch, that's my full focus. I've not got social media, I’d probably rather we didn't use it, but at the same time I understand it's a massive part of the world we live in at the moment. But my full focus is on Motherwell at the weekend.”

Jordan Smith is set to start in goal again for Hibs. | SNS Group

Gray has been using his energies to configure a winning team. Against Aberdeen, he dropped goalkeeper Josef Bursik for one too many errors, but his understudy Jordan Smith looked far from secure, clearly at fault for one goal when botching a punch from a cross and looking mightily suspect at another when he failed to stop an Ester Sokler overhead kick. Smith is likely to start again at Motherwell, even if he failed to convince.

With centre-half Marvin Ekpiteta still injured and Obita suspended, there is still a fragility to this Hibs team despite confidence levels being boosted. Fifth-placed Motherwell started the real rot by defeating them 2-1 at Easter Road on October 5, when the game swung on Nectarios Triantis’ red card. Gray will hope - and probably needs - to come full circle in this encounter.