Sadness and soul-searching at Hibs after end of David Gray era - and blame isn't all on him

His sacking as manager, confirmed by Hibs at tea time on Wednesday, is a sad end to a club legend’s long association with the Leith outfit. A legendary player after scoring the winning goal in the 2016 Scottish Cup final, Gray has risen up the coaching ranks and presided over the first team for more than two years, guiding them to a third-placed finish in the Premiership and successive European campaigns.

Gray set a high bar for himself in the 2024/25 campaign, riding out a dreadful start to end up best of the rest. It was an impressive achievement for a young coach - he is still only 38-years-old - and last season’s fifth-placed finish and the Conference League berth that came with it was decent too. But in the past few weeks, his tenure has unravelled.

Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat by Kilmarnock was the sixth successive league reversal and left Hibs ninth in the table. It came on the back of a 3-1 home derby defeat by Hearts, a painful Conference League play-off defeat by Gent when leading 2-1 with six minutes to go and increasing grumbles on style of play. Boos rang out at Easter Road after losing to Killie, and the tone of Gray’s post-match interview suggested he knew he was on borrowed time.

Hibs’ board met after the Kilmarnock match and came to the conclusion that now is the right time to act. They face Aberdeen at home on Saturday, a match that interim boss John Potter will preside over, before a three-week international break. The elongated pause to the domestic season was always a pitfall for an underperforming manager. Hibs have some time to get their new head coach.

Gray should be remembered as a largely successful Hibs head coach. He leaves the team in a better place than he found it after Nick Montgomery. He came tantalisingly close to taking the club to the main phase of European football, won home and away derbies, scalped both halves of the Old Firm at Ibrox and Celtic Park and went on a record-equalling 17-game unbeaten run in the top flight.

There were sore moments: last season, Hibs lost three of the four Hearts games, all to late goals, they exited the Scottish Cup to Dunfermline Athletic, failed to see out European play-off leads against Legia Warsaw and Gent, and had a damaging propensity to concede late goals in big games throughout Gray’s tenure.

Hibs had started to regress

The feeling amongst many Hibs fans was that the start of this season would quickly determine whether Hibs are progressing or regressing under Gray in his third term in charge. Many fans and, crucially, the board determined it is the latter. The way Hibs have been outplayed recently by more progressive and attack-minded teams was galling. The style of football latterly under Gray wasn’t great.

He wasn’t helped by what is going on over the road at Hearts. Coming so close to winning the league and the run the Jambos put together always highlights the rival’s deficiencies, and the way Wouter Vrancken’s side schooled Hibs in the first clash of this season showed two teams going in different directions.

It is hard to argue with Gray’s dismissal, but there are others who need to go into the spotlight too - as is always the case with a managerial sacking.

Hibs’ recruitment this summer doesn’t, as yet, cut the mustard. Main No 9 Nathan Lowe, on loan from Stoke, has only scored twice and missed a host of good chances, the likes of Callum Wright and Adam Mayor have only flickered sporadically, while in midfield, there remains a glaring lack of creativity. The arrival of Azeem Abdulai, who has barely played, is quizzical, and at the back, Hibs are weaker than they were at the end of last season - although the injury to Rocky Bushiri and sale of Warren O’Hora hasn’t helped.

The team has not evolved. Gray must carry the can, but so too should sporting director Malky Mackay, his deputy David Marshall and recruitment chief Garvan Stewart.

As should the players. Some of the recent performances have been dreadful.

So what next for Hibs? The chances are they will go down the foreign route, perhaps inspired by Jens Berthel Askou at Motherwell last season. Closer to home, Simo Valakari is doing a good job at St Johnstone. Hibs will likely want a more attack-minded and aesthetically pleasing style.

Another matter is whether owner Ian Gordon and his fellow directors can successfully find the right man, having failed with the appointments of Shaun Maloney, Lee Johnson and Nick Montgomery. Gray, who was already in Hibs system, is the fifth manager Hibs have sacked since the Gordon family took over seven years ago.

There will be soul-searching at Hibs over the coming days, as well as mourning the departure of Gray, who should always be revered at Easter Road. Nevertheless, time does not stand still. Hibs are in a pickle and their oft-maligned hierarchy now must step up to the plate once again.