Gray On Kilmarnock Test & International Players Returning 

Hibernian Head Coach David Gray insists his squad are in good shape ahead of our William Hill Premiership clash with Kilmarnock, and is urging his side to put together a positive run of results between now and the end of the season. 

The international break saw six First Team players in action over the window, while also providing the players in the building with an opportunity to put in the work on the training pitch and some key recovery time for certain players. 

With that in mind, speaking to Hibs TV, Gray provided a squad update ahead of this weekend’s fixture with Kilmarnock.

“Squad-wise, we’ve had a few internationals that have been all over the world. The Australian boys returned yesterday and trained this morning. 

“We’re obviously delighted for Rocky, qualifying for the World Cup for the first time, which is brilliant news. His return has been a wee bit delayed, but we’ll hopefully get him back in time.

“It is a really special moment for Rocky. I think any young player dreams of playing at a World Cup. It’s something everyone aspires to. For these players, they’ve now got the opportunity to do it, which is brilliant. He fully deserves it for his performances and I wish him all the best when he goes.

“On top of that, the squad itself has probably benefited from the break. A few of them picked up bumps in the Motherwell game – Felix (Passlack), Miguel (Chaiwa) and Owen (Elding) – and if there had been a game last weekend, they might not have made it. But they’ve come through and managed to train this week, which is really positive for the squad. So that’s great moving forward.”

The Hibees come into this one of the back of a five-match unbeaten run, which started with two victories before consecutive draws with Dundee, Livingston and Motherwell.

Those results keep us well in the hunt for European Football, six points behind Motherwell and five ahead of Falkirk. With seven games to go, Gray admits there is still everything to play for.

“But we’ve now put ourselves in a position where all we can do is take care of our own business. 

“We need to make sure that, given the opportunity, we capitalise on that. That starts with trying to get three points.

“We created a lot of chances in the last home game and needed to be more clinical on the day. We’ll need to play very well again to win. It’s good to be back at home and we have to start the game well and get the crowd behind us, because these are massive games between now and the end of the season.

“Every game is huge and it’s well within us to put a run together. We know we can do it, but the focus is only on the next match. The mindset is to take care of our job, get three points, and then assess it from there.”