David Gray has called on Hibernian to replicate their Premier Sports Cup semi-final performance against Rangers when they face Celtic in Sunday’s final.
Hibs defeated the cinch Premiership leaders 3-1 at Hampden last month. And Gray, who will remain in interim charge for the showpiece match at the national stadium this weekend, believes a repeat of that display will give the Easter Road side a great chance of winning the trophy for the first time since 2007.
He said: “I think we have to look back to what we did against Rangers at Hampden. We have to take the positives from that. If we play to the levels we can, we’re more than a match for anybody. That’s what the mindset has to be going into the game.
“That game showed how good we can be. If we can repeat that, it gives us a great chance of winning the cup. There’s no point in us going there thinking we can’t win.
“I think we all believe we can do it but we know it will be difficult. We need to reach the levels of the semi-final to give ourselves the best possible chance.”
Gray has taken charge of Hibs’ last two league matches, along with Eddie May and Craig Samson, since the sacking of manager Jack Ross last weekend.
The former club captain was informed by chief executive Ben Kensell on Wednesday morning that he would remain in charge for the final, with impending new manager Shaun Maloney – who could be confirmed later this week – playing no part in the preparations.
When asked about being tasked with leading the team at Hampden, 33-year-old Gray said: “I’ve not really had time to think about it. It’s great now we know what’s happening and I think that’s important for the players to have that clarity.
“As a coaching staff, our attention has just been on taking it a game at a time and we weren’t looking towards any cup finals, but since this morning, having spoken to Ben and whilst they conclude the process of finding a new manager, we’ll be in charge of taking the team for the cup final, so now attention changes to that. It’s not about me at all.
“It’s just about doing what the club want us to do. It’s our job to prepare the team as best we can for the cup final.”
Hibs have reached the semi-finals of each of the last five knockout tournaments and Sunday will be their second Hampden final of 2021 after they lost to St Johnstone in the Scottish Cup final in May.
Gray said: “You need to look forward to cup finals because you never know when the opportunity might come again but it shows how far we’ve come that we’ve been in so many semi-finals and finals in recent years.
“The players can use that experience and understanding to look forward to it rather than be anxious and worried about it.”
Gray is hopeful that both Chris Cadden and Kevin Nisbet will recover in time from knocks sustained in Tuesday’s win over Dundee. He said: “It’s very early days but the early signs are positive.”
:: David Gray was speaking at a Premier Sports Cup event. Premier Sports is available on Sky, Virgin TV and the Premier Player from £12.99 per month, and on Amazon Prime as an add-on subscription.
