Gray: We Deserved At Least A Point

“We deserved at least a point” said Hibernian FC Head Coach David Gray after his side’s 1-0 defeat to Rangers.

The Hibees put in a valiant performance at Ibrox creating a number of chances, but ultimately a magnificent strike from Tom Lawrence earned the hosts all three points.

When speaking after the game to Hibs TV, Gray reviewed the performance.

“I have mixed emotions, and I said that to the players. I will never accept losing games of football, so I didn’t want them to be confused with my tone after the game, but there were large elements of the game I was proud of.

“We always knew it would be a tough start with Rangers coming back here after a positive result in Europe, 50,000 supporters here for their first league game back, and we prepared the players for that. I thought we dealt with the atmosphere well and reduced them to very little chances.

“The goal they scored was a wonder-strike and Josef (Bursik) made a really good save in the second half to keep it at 1-0. We created numerous chances and missed a penalty at a big stage in the game. The reaction after the penalty was excellent and I felt like Rangers were hanging on at the end of the game, which doesn’t happen very often here; that’s credit to everyone involved and the effort we put in.

“We need to be a wee bit more clinical; I think we had 18 shots. We deserved at least a point, but I honestly believe if we got that goal, we’d have gone on to win the game.”

Despite not picking up any points, Gray was pleased with his side’s performance and believes that should be the benchmark moving forwards.

“That work rate and effort is the minimum requirement and the standard we’ve now set. If we can take that into the rest of the season, then we’ll be in a good place for it.

“I’ve said for a number of weeks that the group is getting fitter, stronger, and better. You’ve seen that in the performance today, and that can give us a lot of confidence.”