Stakes high for Hibs and Ross County with their own respective plights to sort
David Gray wants Hibs to grasp the opportunity to climb away from the bottom of a tightly-packed William Hill Premiership when they host Ross County on Saturday.
It has been a tough season for Hibs who returned to the foot of the standings last week following their 3-0 defeat at Celtic Park. However, the Easter Road side are only three points behind eighth-placed Staggies, who have won one game in their last six and who fought out a goalless draw at home to the Leith side in October.
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Hide AdHibees boss Gray said: “We are bottom the league at this moment in time and they are currently eight but if we win the game and we go above them. So it shows you how tight the league is at the moment. It shows you how quickly things can change.


“But our full focus will be on the fact that there are three points ahead of us, and we can’t allow them to get any further in front of us. If anything, we need to be making sure we claw that back and go above them, because our goal difference will obviously be superior. So that’s the full focus on our mind this weekend, about the opportunity that presents itself.
“But the players are ready. They know exactly the challenge that Ross County will face. We’ve played them already fairly recently, a few weeks ago, away from home. It’s a different test and challenge at home for us, but it certainly will be for them as well. So we need to make sure they feel that.”
County have not won away from home this season but Gray insists that makes no different to his mindset. The former Hibs defender said: “I think when you find yourself bottom in the league at this stage of the season, at home against Ross County, the expectation is just there. When you play for this club, whether Ross County had won the last three games in a row, the expectation is there.
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Hide Ad“It doesn’t go away, and rightly so, because this is a game where for we need to get to in the season, we can’t look at anything other than we are expected to win, and the players know that. But actually, I feel training that they’re looking forward to the game and they challenge that they face.”


Don Cowie will take any kind of win against Hibs on Saturday as he looks for his team to get off the mark away from home. The Staggies remained in eighth place in the table, three points above bottom side Hibs, following last Sunday’s 3-0 home defeat by Rangers.
Cowie’s men side are more than decent at their Global Energy Stadium but have not won away from Dingwall in eight league games this season as they get ready for Easter Road
“It’s another opportunity to try and end this run away from home, and we’re really motivated to put that to an end,” said Cowie. “It’s going to be a difficult game.
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Hide Ad“I think they’ve got a bit of feel-good factor in terms of their last few performances, a good point against Aberdeen, good win against Motherwell, and performed really well against Celtic on Saturday (lost 3-0).
“So, they’ll see it as a real opportunity for them to continue that but at same time we sort of understand the importance of ending this run and improving our away form.
“You think about it a lot, but at the same time there’s only so much time you want to put your effort into that, because it’s still the same players, still same information a lot of the time.


“So it’s just that having that right mentality, going to away grounds and facing up to what you’re going to come across and be ready for that and being together in tough environments.
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Hide Ad“It doesn’t matter how you get a victory, it’s just getting it, so it doesn’t have to be free-flowing or anything like that. It can be back-to-the-wall (performance), it’s just a fact of putting that run to an end and then that allows us to move forward as a group.”
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