David Gray has say on Hibs vote of confidence, Elie Youan flashpoint, and what he did to refresh during break

Embattled manager knows results must improve

David Gray has been around long enough to know that a vote of confidence often only amounts to a vote approving a stay of execution.

The Hibs manager is perceived to be living day-by-day so the past fortnight since that turbulent defeat to St Mirren must have been a relief. Helpfully, there have been no first-team fixtures. It means the statement that was interpreted in some quarters as a dreaded vote of confidence has not yet been put under scrutiny in practice.

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The struggling Easter Road side finally return to action at Dens Park against Dundee on Saturday evening. Live television cameras, in this case those on site for Premier Sports, provide an extra sense of occasion. It’s not hard to imagine why the fixture has been selected for such treatment. TV executives clearly sense some jeopardy.

Hibs head coach David Gray during a training session on November 22, 2024. (Photo by Mark Scates / SNS Group)Hibs head coach David Gray during a training session on November 22, 2024. (Photo by Mark Scates / SNS Group)
Hibs head coach David Gray during a training session on November 22, 2024. (Photo by Mark Scates / SNS Group) | SNS Group

The fact Hibs have not won any of the six games since an announcement at the start of last month that kick-off had been put back for television has only increased the intrigue, although it must be noted that hosts Dundee have won just twice in the same period.

Focus, though, is concentrated on the away dugout. If Hibs lose words published in a statement from the directors 48 hours after the home loss to St Mirren might prove to have been hollow. “Through this challenging time, we support our Head Coach David Gray and his management team,” was one of the seven brisk sentences. “All departments are under pressure to deliver.”

Another defeat for bottom-of-the-table Hibs is not to be borne, particularly in a game Gray admitted is a veritable six-pointer. A victory takes his side to within just a point of Dundee, currently in seventh. A defeat for Hibs would see the hosts go seven points clear of the basement.

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Gray was his usual honest self as he spoke for the first time since that rites of passage of a manager’s life – the loaded message of support from on high – was released. He might prefer to be more than 17 games into his career as a permanent manager before being the subject of such a double-edged affirmation, although he admits – with disarming honesty – that “what I've delivered so far has not been good enough”. Nevertheless, he was in good form at the Hibs training ground.

Settling into his seat, he responded to a welcome greeting from one journalist, who told Gray it was good to see him, with: “You sound surprised?”

Hibs head coach David Gray during a press conference on Friday ahead of the match against Dundee. (Photo by Mark Scates / SNS Group)Hibs head coach David Gray during a press conference on Friday ahead of the match against Dundee. (Photo by Mark Scates / SNS Group)
Hibs head coach David Gray during a press conference on Friday ahead of the match against Dundee. (Photo by Mark Scates / SNS Group) | SNS Group

He said he was happy with last week’s statement from the board. Hibs face three difficult games in the next week, against Dundee, Aberdeen and Motherwell, with only the middle one at home. Gray has not been given a short-term points target. He can afford to look no further ahead than Dundee.

“I think it (the statement) was pretty self-explanatory for me, which is you need to start winning - quickly," he said. "We know that. I'm well aware of that.

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“It's not a case of one game, two games, three games and how many points it should be over the course of that. The position we find ourselves in at the moment as a football club isn't good enough. We need to change that as quickly as we can and we've got an opportunity to try and do that at the weekend. I'm not looking past that because I know the fine margins we're dealing with.”

The break for internationals seems to have been a positive one for him personally. Not just because it means Hibs haven’t lost any more matches, but also because he’s also had the chance to reassess. Additionally, there’s been some important downtime, including a trip to see the The Courteeners in Glasgow.

“Would I rather have had the game straight away?” he asked. “Yes, 100%, because you don't want to keep waiting for the next game. But it was also probably quite a good thing that last weekend - Saturday, Sunday - I was able to spend some time with my wife and my kids, which is probably a bit refreshing during this kind of period. Off the back of that, you come back into work on Monday morning fully focused on making sure you can turn things around.”

His determination to put things right has not been helped by the absence of those on international duty. “I'm not going to say it's an excuse for not being able to get the work into players, we've been doing things for a number of weeks anyway,” he said. “But not being all together isn't ideal when you're trying to work on different things for example, or areas in which you need to improve. The only thing that's a real positive about it is everybody's come back safely, that's all you can hope for when they go away.”

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Elie Youan is gently escorted off the field by Jordan Obita after the French winger had engaged in a heated debate with fans at full-time after the defeat to St Mirren.Elie Youan is gently escorted off the field by Jordan Obita after the French winger had engaged in a heated debate with fans at full-time after the defeat to St Mirren.
Elie Youan is gently escorted off the field by Jordan Obita after the French winger had engaged in a heated debate with fans at full-time after the defeat to St Mirren. | SNS Group

Friday’s training session was the first full one since that bleak afternoon against St Mirren, with six players having been away representing their countries. Elie Youan was not one of them, although Gray has not spoken to him specifically about the scenes at the end of the game, when the forward had to be led away from angry home supporters.

“Everybody knows as football players you don't react to anything in the crowd, I think that's pretty much a given,” said Gray. “I fully understand the noise when people are frustrated, understandably so.

"The message to the players is always to try and react in the best way possible. Try to be respectful to everyone round about you because you're always in the public eye as well. It's not just reacting to that person, it's the example you're setting to every single person round about, young kids at the game. They are role models for some people.

“So you need to bear that in mind. It's all part of being a professional football player. It’s not something I really need to remind them of because it's been part of their journey ever since they started playing football.”

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