Gray’s belief pays off as Hibs make Ibrox history for the third time
Hibs manager David Gray admitted he had spent the previous week pushing his players to create history before their 2-1 win at Rangers’ Ibrox Stadium. The Leith club’s victory marked the first time Hibs have beaten Rangers in Glasgow for three consecutive seasons.
Substitute Callum Wright’s stoppage-time strike sealed the league win, extending Hibs’ unbeaten run against their Glasgow rivals into a third straight campaign. Gray described the achievement as unprecedented in the club’s long history and praised his players for embracing the challenge he set them.
‘A lot of people speak about history and usually it’s because something’s not been done for a very long time and it’s a negative thing,’ Gray said. ‘I’ve always tried to challenge the group to recreate our own history. That’s certainly something I spoke about.’
He revealed he had asked the squad when they thought the feat had last been achieved, adding: ‘Three times and nobody knew the answer clearly, but it’s because it’s never been done before.’
Gray underlined the significance of the achievement, noting how difficult Ibrox is to visit and highlighting the quality within his squad. ‘It shows you how good an achievement it is, how difficult a place this is to come, but also the quality we’ve got within the group that we’re able to go and do that,’ he said.
The match swung dramatically when Miguel Chaiwa’s own goal cancelled out Josh Campbell’s first-half penalty, leaving Hibs clinging to a draw. Gray’s side responded in injury time, with Wright’s late winner sparking wild celebrations among the travelling support.
‘I think belief is key to any successful team,’ Gray said. ‘I think you’ve seen that. Three times in three seasons we’ve come here and done it and it’s not as if that happens a lot, anyway.’
He reflected on the fans’ growing confidence, saying: ‘I actually feel the fans now believe coming along that we can go and get a result at times. It’s a difficult place to come, as we know. But you need to believe it.’
Gray also defended the decision to award a late penalty to Hibs after Vanja Dragojevic impeded Jason Kerr. ‘At the time I didn’t think much of it, but the goalie coach actually said straight away, I think that could be a penalty,’ he said.
‘Then they broke away, then you kind of forget about it and then they’ll stop the game. But seeing it back now, I think the officials and the VAR have got no option but to give it.’