Hibs boss David Gray hails Scottish Cup hero and has words for the Gordon family amid £7m losses

Hibs manager David Gray praised his team for avoiding succumbing to the shock some felt was likely against high-flying Ayr United as they reached the last eight of the Scottish Cup thanks to Rocky Bushiri’s late diving header.

The defender, who was the subject of a reported transfer bid in the last window, struck for the third time this season with two minutes of regulation time left after an end-to-end cup tie under the lights at Somerset Park.

“A lot was made when the draw came out about the potential upset and the magic of the cup, the cameras coming down here,” said Gray. “Everything about that was geared up for a potential upset and Ayr are doing fantastic in the Championship. We always knew it would be a tricky test. I can’t praise Rocky enough since he took his opportunity coming back into the team.

“Think back to how his season has gone, he hasn’t played the minutes he would’ve liked. But his level of professionalism and attitude every day, to keep going and waiting for his chance he’s really developed into a leader at the back. He’s popped up with a couple of big goals now which is a real credit to him and he really deserves it.”

Hibs defender Rocky Bushiri at full time after scoring the winner against Ayr United. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group) | SNS Group

The Hibs hierarchy were particularly grateful for Bushiri’s intervention having announced a staggering loss of over £7 million for the last financial year earlier in the day. Gray stressed that he has been fully briefed about the financial situation but his priority was getting results on the pitch, and he has been supported in this aim.

“It’s something I’m aware about,” he said. “There have been conversations about it but it’s more a question for the hierarchy. My full focus and job is to make sure performances on the pitch keep improving because that’s where we’ve been letting ourselves down in recent times.

“That’s my job description. One thing I’d say is the club has been really supportive of me, I go back to the transfer window at the start of the season.

“The continued support from the Gordon family and communication to me in the January as well, the support is fully there. The club are comfortable with it. My full focus is to get the right results on the pitch. Wins like this will help because we will get a bit of a reward for success.”

Ayr United manager Scott Brown and Hibs head coach David Gray shake hands at full time. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group) | SNS Group

Ayr manager Scott Brown was also delighted with his charges, who pushed Hibs to the very brink. George Oakley was denied by a fine stop from Jordan Smith in the first half and the ‘keeper grabbed substitute Jamie Murphy’s effort at the second attempt late on.

"It looked like it was heading for extra time," the former Hibs midfielder said. "To be fair, I'm not sure we could have dealt with extra time on the soft pitch but no, the lads put up a great performance

“It shows you where we've got to over the last year and we're a happy team at this moment in time. We're in a great place and it shows on the park and it's good with the fans as well, because the fans came out in their thousands today. It's brilliant for the stadium and it's brilliant for the area too.”

Brown was booked in the second half for complaining too vehemently about a decision to fourth official David Dickinson. “He had nothing to do in the game and he looked bored,” he said. “Obviously you can't throw your hands up in the air because he says I was irresponsible, so I don't know where he got that from. He just wanted to make the game about him, as they usually do.”