Is Gray's time at Hibs coming to an end?

"We need a clear out from top to bottom."

"Team selections and substitutions have been bizarre and concerning."

"Another shambolic, gutless and cowardly performance. This is easily the worst Hibs team I have seen."

Saturday's dismal 4-1 defeat by Dundee kept Hibernian bottom of the Scottish Premiership, winless in eight games, and with just one league win this term.

The mood among the club's fanbase is universally bleak, as the responses above show.

Some blame head coach David Gray's decisions, others believe the fault lies at boardroom level, but few, if any, see signs to be optimistic.

You only have to look at the hapless loss at Dens Park to see why.

Gray's side had started well and took the lead through Nicky Cadden, but Jordan Obita's rash tackle on Mo Sylla left Hibs with 10 men, and the momentum flipped.

Nectarios Triantis' own-goal quickly followed Jordan McGhee's strike to give Dundee the lead, and worse was to come on the brink of half-time.

Goalkeeper Josef Bursik's heavy first touch allowed Seb Palmer-Houlden to pinch possession and tap into an empty net.

Another lapse in concentration late on, this time from Rocky Bushiri, led directly to Dundee's fourth.

Gray admitted afterwards that it feels like "it isn't going to change any time soon", and although he vowed to fight on, the club legend cut a dejected figure.

"These moments, these individual errors - David Gray can do nothing about [them]. That’s the hardest thing as a manager," former Hearts boss Steven Naismith said on Sportscene on Saturday.

"I don't remember a manager having such a run of bad luck by players making such bad decisions," former Dundee boss Neil McCann added. "The house just caved in.

"Bursik actually has the cheek to have a wee go at somebody; that's all about him. Dundee sniffed blood and went in for the kill. There was a sense of resignation [from Hibs players] at the fourth goal."

'Severe anger and embarrassment'

Captain Joe Newell did not shy away from addressing the issues post-match, admitting he cannot pinpoint the reasons behind Hibs' soft centre.

"Severe anger and embarrassment," he said, when asked for his immediate reaction to another loss. "The way we just folded. Miles away from where we should be. We started so well and the red card happens, I can't defend it."

Newell vowed to stand up and be counted when Hibs next attempt to end their winless run, at home against Aberdeen on Tuesday.

"You put on that shirt; you have to respond," he added. "It doesn't matter if you feel you can or you can't, you have to perform, you have to respond.

"You have to be big enough and ugly enough to take that responsibility and the pressure that comes with it."

Gray was publicly backed by the Hibs board before the recent international break, but that faith can only stretch so far and Easter Road could quickly turn poisonous were there to be another defeat in midweek.

Widespread errors and indiscipline behind poor form

While Gray surely cannot survive too many more defeats, and fans have been frustrated by certain selection decisions and in-game tweaks, stats reveal an issue that pre-dated this season - a tendency to shoot themselves in the foot.

According to Opta, Hibs have made both the most errors leading to shots (nine) and errors leading to goals (six) in the Scottish Premiership this season. And only Kilmarnock, with five, have more than Hibs' four red cards.

They have dropped 14 points from winning positions, six more than any other side. Hibs get into good positions, but don't have the steel to see them through.

Unless they can find a way to toughen up that soft underbelly, it seems inevitable it will cost Gray his job.

Still, a change in the dugout would not fix the obvious flaws in the Hibs squad. It seems only a drastic overhaul of the playing group would do that.

Therein lies another issue. There was a significant churn of players over the summer - led by Malky Mackay - and it has resulted in the current crop of players, who do not look up to the task.

Would the same recruitment team be able to do a better job in the next window? The evidence suggests not.