'He obviously knows': Hibs boss David Gray opens up on Mykola Kuharevich as Celtic game leaves mixed emotions

The Hibees slipped back to the bottom of the Premiership table due to Hearts’ own win over Dundee, but Gray took heart from the manner of his team’s performance against the champions. Hibs had nine shots on target, with opposition goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel named man of the match. However, he was left to lament three costly first-half misses - two of which came from striker Mykola Kuharevich.

“It’s quite difficult to digest at the moment, if I'm being honest,” said Gray, “because we knew coming here that when you ever get opportunities here, you need to take them. That's clear because of how good Celtic are, how dominant they've been for a while now. We knew the challenge coming here was going to be a real tough test. But it's mixed emotions because of what I'm asking the players to do, the amount of chances we created.

“And the way we played throughout the game, for large periods of the game, showing that bravery and composure on the ball, which I asked for, was great to see. The issue is we came away losing the game 3-0, so I'm never going to come away accepting the fact that we've lost the game. But it also shows the effort and desire and how far we've come that we are actually coming away from a place like this disappointed.

“I can't remember a Hibs team coming and creating so many clear-cut chances, so much so that their goalkeeper wins man of the match. So I think that's a reflection on how well the players have done for periods in the game as well.

“I do take positives from that, and confidence from that, that the players can then put that together now and really kick on now for the rest of the season. Because, again, for all the positive things in the game, we've lost a game 3-0, and we're now bottom of the league again. So the attention changes quickly now towards Ross County, because we know we need to pick up points and quickly.”

While captain Joe Newell missed a good chance in the opening exchanges, it will be Kuharevich’s two one-on-one misses that will be lamented most by the Easter Road camp. He lacked composure on each occasion and was thwarted by Schmeichel, before going off with a groin injury, all inside 27 minutes.

“I've not spoken to him in the moment,” said Gray, “I think he obviously knows the disappointment. Physically, we'll just have to assess how he is. He obviously felt his groin within the game. Hopefully it's just nothing major.

“But the fact he went back onto the pitch and had a little run around probably tells me that it's not, hopefully, too serious. But at the same time, he was then having to come off. And then the mental side to that, I'm sure he's going to be frustrated. He's a goal scorer. That's what his job is. He's a centre-forward.

“So he's missed a few big chances today at big moments in the game, especially a place like this, where you need to learn from that quickly. But there's no point feeling sorry for yourself. You just need to get back on the grass as quick as you can and start working on these areas.”