Hibernian's David Gray Faces Pressure Ahead of Ross County Cup Clash

David Gray refuses to flinch. The noise is growing around Easter Road, the questions are sharper, the margin for error slimmer, but the Hibernian head coach is adamant he will not be dragged under by the early-season storm.

Two league defeats on the spin, to Heart of Midlothian and St Johnstone, and a squandered route into the Conference League have Hibs on edge and Gray under scrutiny in what is still only the early stretch of his third campaign in charge. Now comes a different kind of test: a Premier Sports Cup quarter-final away to Ross County on Saturday, with a first semi-final of his tenure on the line.

For Gray, this is exactly the job.

“You're judged on results and that doesn't change,” he said. “If I'd won three or four games in a row, I'd still put pressure on myself to be better every day. If you think you've completed it and stand still, football has a way of changing very quickly, both in a positive way and a negative way.”

From early backing to hard questions

Gray knows what it is to be backed through bleak numbers. At the start of his managerial career, the Hibs board stood by him when he managed just one win in his first 15 league games. That period, he admits, belonged to a different chapter in the club’s story.

“Malky [Mackay, sporting director] was also just in the door in terms of the structure and the transitional period that the club was in at that time,” Gray said, drawing a clear line between then and now.

The landscape has changed. The club is more settled. The structures are in place. With that stability comes a different kind of expectation – and a quicker trigger on criticism.

“Would I have expected [criticism] to come on quicker now because we're a bit more settled and we've had time to do things? Naturally,” he said. “I'm not averse to criticism, I'm not shying away from it. I'm certainly not put off by it in terms of feeling sorry for myself. If anything, it's the opposite.”

The pressure, in his eyes, is fuel rather than a weight.

Hampden at the top of the list

Hibs have not felt the crackle of a semi-final since November 2023, when they lost to Aberdeen in this same competition, with Gray then part of Nick Montgomery’s coaching staff. That absence has lingered around the training ground.

When the squad and staff set out their targets before a ball was kicked this season, one ambition sat above the rest.

“When we spoke about challenges and objectives at the start of the season, getting to Hampden was right at the very top of the list,” Gray said.

That is why Saturday in Dingwall carries more than routine cup-tie significance. It is a chance to change the mood, to quieten the criticism, to put something tangible on the board early.

“If I allow the noise to affect what we're doing or distract me in any way then you just go under in that situation,” he added. “I've been through adversity before and the focus is simply that we need to make sure we win.

The form and everything else doesn't matter this weekend. It's about making sure everyone knows the job in hand, which is a real chance to get to Hampden.

Dangerous County, different division

On paper, Hibs travel north as the Premiership club facing League 1 opposition. Gray is not entertaining any notion of an easy route to the last four.

Ross County, relegated from the Championship, have started the season with purpose. They are unbeaten in League 1, have stayed full-time and kept the core of their squad together. Veteran striker Brian Graham has already hit nine goals this term, one of them in a home draw with Dundee during the competition’s group stage.

“They've stayed full-time and kept their core together,” Gray said of the Highland side. “It wouldn't surprise me if they found themselves back in the Premiership again with the infrastructure, players and management team they've got.

“They've started the season really well, they're used to winning games and they'll be playing with confidence. That adds to the challenge we've got.”

So the equation is simple and brutal. A Hibs side under pressure, away from home, against a confident lower-league team with nothing to lose and a semi-final dangling in front of them.

For Gray, it is not about narratives, reputations or recent form. It comes down to one afternoon in Dingwall, one job.

Win, and Hampden opens its doors. Lose, and the noise around Easter Road will only get louder.