'I loved it': Mellowed Neil Lennon looks back at Hibs tenure and gives David Gray verdict

More than 10,000 fans are expected for a lunchtime fourth-round clash live on the BBC. Ultimately this what Dunfermline want on a more regular basis. A multiple top-flight league and cup winner, it is what Lennon craves too.

Dunfermline are too far behind in the Championship title race but sitting fifth, they are right in the mix for the play-offs. Lennon has assembled a young squad with the dual remit of ultimately achieving promotion and rearing prospects. Inactive the past two weekends due to postponements, their last outing was on December 27 when they won away at Raith Rovers in the Fife derby.

Lennon is relishing the visit of Hibs for many reasons and fondly recalled his stint in charge at Easter Road between 2016 and 2019 - and he draws parallels between his squad back then and his current crop at Dunfermline.

“Oh yeah, I loved it,” Lennon said. “I had a great time at Hibs. The timing of it obviously off the back of winning the cup. The first day of training I looked at them and thought we've got a really good team here. Then it was just a case of adding bits and pieces to it and a little shift in mentality to get out of the division.

“We did that pretty well. We got the semi-final of the cup and then we had a great year in the Premier League which I felt we would do with the quality of players we had.

“It's similar here with the quality of players that I have. The hard bit for me would be getting out of the division and then I think if we endeavour to do that over the next couple of years then I think we'll have a good run at it.

“My two and a half years at Hibs were some of the happiest in my managerial career. Good young team, the club was buoyant and I've got so many fond memories of the place.

Gray ‘has Hibs playing very well’

As Lennon noted, the man in the opposite dugout was a major cog in his Hibs machine.

“David was a big part of that as well,” continued the 54-year-old. “Delighted with what he's doing. He had a real baptism of fire last year. He came through a really difficult period and I think that stands him in good stead. He's not looked back since. I think it's been seamless the way he's handled it. He's very calm, very measured and he's got his team playing really well.”

Lennon was asked if he ever saw Gray becoming a head coach. “Good question,” he mused. “He was a leader but he's quiet and he did things in his own way. Very professional, very intense.

“It's a difficult one because he was quiet but he led with his actions. You think of the contribution he's made to the club already. Obviously everyone talks about the goal. He scored some important goals for me domestically and in Europe as well. He captained the team really well over that period. But it's a good fit.

“He's got good staff around him. I think the guys upstairs, Malky [Mackay] and Dave Marshall, I think they're a big support for him as well. He's come over a really difficult period which I felt stands him in good stead whatever he does now.

“To come through that and come out the other side speaks volumes for his managerial ability but also his character as well.”

Nevertheless, Lennon wants to deliver a blow to his old captain. “Listen, I've got hope,” said Lennon. “I've got a good team, I've got good athletes on the team, I've got talented players who on any given day can upset anybody. So I'm hoping that we're going to put it all together for the 90 minutes.

“We've tried to raise their professionalism, we've tried to improve them physically and mentally. And we're seeing, you know, there's going to be inconsistencies because of their age, we accept that. But we're seeing progress, which is the most important thing. And I'm really enjoying it, good people here and the fans have been terrific.”

Recently back from a four-match touchline ban, Lennon says he is a changed man from his days at Hibs. “Probably more mellow, and a bit more understanding,” he explained. “And then the gap between me and the players, as you get older the gap gets bigger. There has to be an understanding of what they're thinking as well, because it's not like when I first took over at Celtic, when I'd just come out of the dressing room for two or three years and then you're back in the hot seat.”

This weekend is chance to re-create some of the results of old. Calmer or otherwise, the competitive fire still burns bright for Lennon.