Hibs 'kind of hoped Aberdeen would beat everyone at one point' as no aeroplanes planned for Rangers

For the first time this season, Hibs head coach David was able to let himself relax ahead of a football match.

It has been quite the maiden campaign for the Hibs boss. He started it off by dealing with the immense pressure of not winning, clinging on to his job while his team propped up the Premiership, before embarking on a fairytale run that eventually brought them third place.

Every week there has been pressure, scrutiny - whether it was to move away from the relegation zone, reach the top six or hold on to third once they hit the front in March.

Hibs head coach David Gray ahead of the match against Rangers. | SNS Group

It all came to a head on Wednesday when Hibs’ 2-2 draw at St Mirren secured the ‘best of the rest’ tag with a game to spare. The achievement allowed Gray to reflect on what has been the ultimate rollercoaster of a first season in management ahead of facing Rangers on Saturday at home.

“I didn't sleep much to be honest,” said Gray of how he felt when the lights went off in the early hours of Thursday morning. “It was probably a wee bit of relief. It was back to the same conversation I've had with my wife again, you’re still not happy, what's wrong with you?’ At least I'm consistent, that's all I'm going to say!”

Hibs’ dark times

Gray is always a self-deprecating fellow. No doubt it helped him through the dark times - because there have been a few in the early stages of his tenure.

“There was a wee bit of relief there, 100 per cent because until it's done it's never done,” he continued. “We were in that position, we put ourselves in such a good position quite early on when it was a couple of games to go before the split. We were sitting in third position so we were then the team being chased and the pressures that then come with that and the players then trying to maintain such a high level of performance knowing that how quickly it could change.

“It was something that I had full belief in the players and to do it with a game to spare obviously makes this game less pressure going into it, but then allows you to then go and enjoy the fact that it is an incredible achievement. I said that to the players straight after the game, ‘don't underestimate how good an achievement this actually is from where we were’. I think the players deserve all the credit in the world for their hard work dedication and togetherness throughout the whole season has been second to none.”

Hibs train ahead of their final match of the season. | SNS Group

Nearest challengers Aberdeen were 21 points clear of Hibs at the end of November. The Dons’ own remarkable start to the season made them red-hot favourites for third at an early stage as Jimmy Thelin’s men swept all before them. Gray admits that there was a point in the season when he wondered if it was best to let the Dons rampage away and take points off the teams in and around the drop zone.

“When you think about psychology, how the season started in that run at the very start,” continued Gray, “as much as we were bottom of the league it was so tight and it was like, ‘well a couple of wins and you could end up sixth or something like that’. If you were sitting seventh and then lose the next one you could end up bottom of the league, and it was always that so tight.

“There was a point I think with Aberdeen's start, you're almost getting to the point where you're saying, well you kind of hope that Aberdeen just keep beating everybody so then nobody else can really get closer and everyone else stays tight. And then before you know it, they start losing games and then we start catching them.

The change in Hibs’ psychology

“So it's amazing how the psychology of the season and what you start to think about changes from at that point when you're thinking Aberdeen were going to run away with third position.

“If you had said to us at that point that we would turn it round and finish third I don't think that many people would agree with you, but as I said to the players straight after the game, at this stage of the season the league certainly doesn't lie and I think on reflection the players have been incredibly consistent. Even at the start of the season during the difficult times, the level of performance was not a reflection of the points we had.”

Hibs trailed Aberdeen by 21 points at one stage. | SNS Group

Gray was asked if he ever gave up on catching the Dons. "Giving up on third?” he smiled. “I just needed to get off the bottom of the league, I wanted to win a game - that was the problem! No, I hadn't thought about third position at that point at all. At that point it was about trying to find a formula that got the players the confidence to get over the line.”

He found that formula. It means the Saturday lunchtime clash with Rangers will be a day of celebration at Easter Road - and such a last-day scenario brought back memories of a famous clash between these two teams in 2018, which ended 5-5. Gray was a player that day and had fond recollections.

“That was mayhem. We needed to win 5-0 or something like that [to finish third] and then after 10 minutes we were 3-0 up or something. I'm going, 'this might happen, this is unbelievable' - it was a proper game of football, both teams bang at it trying to win, end to end. It was a brilliant game.”

The Hibs-Rangers aeroplane game

Jamie Maclaren’s last-minute equaliser brought the now famous aeroplane celebration from then Hibs manager Neil Lennon. What chance of Gray doing it given Hibs will be on their travels next season? “I think I might punch the air!” he laughed. “There you go, that's as good as it gets for me I think. It's an iconic celebration. I quite enjoyed watching it - it was entertaining.”

And with that, Gray’s final pre-match press conference came to an end. Handshakes and smiles all round. The 37-year-old has much to be contented with right now.