Hibs 'always believed' as gauntlet laid down to Hearts - but there are two injury concerns

The Easter Road side put in their best Premiership performance of the season to date by being only the second team to win at Pittodrie thanks to goals from Elie Youan, Nicky Cadden and Martin Boyle that cancelled out Topi Keskinen’s opener. They sit in eighth place thanks to the win and build upon last weekend’s much-needed triumph over Ross County.

“We have been quietly confident within the group,” said Gray. “The hard work we're putting in every single day is starting to come out now, which is great. We always say that you need to stick together, you need to believe in what you're doing.

“At times it's been difficult, we've went through adversity. The position we've found ourselves in in the league, the slow start to the season, the players have been questioned a lot about mentality and character, but they're certainly answering that now.

“We've always believed with what's in the group that it was such small margins and if we can put the complete performances together, we know we'll be a real good side and things can quickly change. I think today was a good example of that as well. Defending exceptionally well, the game plan worked to perfection, which is great.

“That's credit to the players for really applying that and trusting in it, believing in it. We were much more clinical today as well. Situations that arose when you think about Boyle's chance to go in and kill the game off or to put ourselves two goals in front was a huge moment.

“In recent weeks we've maybe let the opportunities pass us. All in all, I’m delighted for everyone.”

Gray now challenged Hibs to take this form into the Boxing Day derby at Hearts against Tynecastle, who sit bottom of the league ahead of their match against St Johnstone on Sunday. “It puts you in the best possible frame of mind going into the game, but a derby is a derby - form that goes out the window,” said Gray. “It's all about the team that settles the best, the team that performs best on the day, and I know that's a bit of a cliche, but these are games that every player should look forward to.

“We need to guard against complacency as well. Nothing changes, we keep working on the areas we need to improve and keep taking the club forward, because where we are just now, we need to be even higher and we need to keep pushing forward as much as we can.”

Hibs do have two injury worries ahead of crossing the city, though, after defender Warren O’Hora and captain Joe Newell came off injured in the second half. “If you remember against Ross County, Warren came off in the game with a bit of an ankle issue, and then just at half-time it stiffened up a bit, and was because of that, struggled to run it off a little bit,” said Gray. “So we'll just have to wait and see if he recovers, but credit to him for the way he put his body on the line. We'll just see if he recovers.

“Joe, it’s too early to assess it, but just felt a little bit of a knock, so we'll see if he goes, and that'll be the key for everyone in the squad, to be honest. With so many fixtures coming up, it's about rest and recovery as much as you can.”

Gray was full of praise for Boyle, who was making his first start since November 9. “For him this season, he's found himself out of the team for a bit,” continued the head coach, “but he's responded in exactly the way that you'd want anyone to respond. Especially a senior player as well, the amount of games he's played, how important he's been for his football club for a number of years. So he's had to be patient, he's had to keep working hard, but he's always had that quality. I think you've seen that at this level, he's always been able to affect games with his pace, he's directness, but his quality as well.

“The end product he's got, which he's delivered again today, his goal involvement for the season, as much as he's been his fluent best, he's had to keep working hard and be patient. But that's also a testament to the squad, for the competition for places, that nobody's guaranteed a place.”

For Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin, he is facing the first slump of his time at Pittodrie. The Dons have not won in their past six matches and are now third after Rangers overtook them with a 1-0 win over Dundee.

"I talked about it with the players and staff after the game about how we have to stay close to each other on the pitch," said Thelin. "Mistakes will happen inside the game but we can't get so hurt from a mistake and that's a sign we're not balanced enough. We don't cover each other enough.

"Myself and my staff have to keep working together with the players to fix that. It's this balance inside the game but also how we balance each other as a team. The only way out is if we stay together and keep working on the training pitch and do things better."