What's going wrong for Gray and Hibs?

Three straight defeats, one win in six games, sitting bottom of the Scottish Premiership table - it is not where Hibernian would want to be heading into their first Edinburgh derby of the season.

To make matters worse, those past two defeats have come after late capitulations following red cards - and they will entertain Heart of Midlothian on Sunday without suspended captain Joe Newell.

As former Hearts winger Neil McCann said on BBC Sportscene, the timing of the derby could turn out to be the best thing - or the worst - for head coach David Gray, depending on the result.

So what is going wrong at Easter Road and what does Gray need to do to turn things round?

Inaccurate up front, fragile at back

Improving the accuracy of their attacks would be a good start.

Only Celtic, Rangers and Hearts have had more goal attempts than Hibs in the Premiership this season, yet Gray's side have the joint-fewest goals - along with Ross County - and the worst conversion rate.

Hibs do seem capable of keeping opponents at arm's length considering only Celtic and Rangers have faced fewer goal attempts, but their one clean sheet so far suggests the frailty of recent seasons has not yet been cured despite a high turnover of defenders this summer.

They have also made the joint-most errors leading to goals and no team has lost more than Hibs' seven points from winning positions this season.

Together with those two red cards in successive games, it all points to a fragile mentality when the going gets tough.

Hearts have the next worst goal tally and conversion rate, have faced the next fewest goal attempts and also have the joint-most errors leading to goals.

However, they will arrive at Easter Road on the back of a fine 4-0 win over St Mirren in new head coach Neil Critchley's first game in charge - a result that lifted the Tynecastle side off the bottom and above their Leith rivals.

So what do Hibs do to end a run of four city derbies without a victory?

'Poor decision-making' but 'no panic'

Meshack Ubochioma scored United's winner deep into added time

Gray was given the benefit of the doubt in June, being appointed permanently despite his fourth stint as caretaker team boss ending with his side eighth in the table.

It did not help when billionaire Bournemouth owner Bill Foley, who had bought a 25% stake in Hibs, accused the Leith club of not listening to his Black Knights group when making their decision.

Former Hibs midfielder Kevin Thomson, though, suggests the former captain who led Hibs to Scottish Cup glory in 2016 is "well thought of at the club" and thinks the derby - and some winnable fixtures thereafter - come at a good time.

"Neil's come into the Jambos and got a great result at the weekend and their tails will be up," he told BBC Radio Scotland.

"I think a lot of people will be hiding behind the sofa from a Hibs fans' perspective, but I think it is a good one for the team, it is a good one for the manager, to get their teeth stuck into."

The red cards for Nectarios Triantis against Motherwell and fellow midfielder Newell against Dundee United were indicative of Hibs "not making it easy for themselves".

Former Dundee boss McCann had sympathy for Gray considering United's two late goals to win 3-2 came after "poor decision making from a really experienced player and club captain".

"It's not easy when results are not coming and you know the hard work you put in - particularly when you know you are under pressure, you are double checking everything," he told BBC Sportscene.

"But, when players are making decisions like that on the pitch and it's costing you dearly, it's a horrible situation. The derby next week could be the worst thing for him, or it could be the best thing for him."

McCann pointed out Hibs "were good against Rangers" despite losing 1-0 at Ibrox and "were probably the best team for the large proportion of the match" but "came up short" when United "asked the questions" and showed "aggression" leading to their winner nine minutes into added time.

Former Scotland striker Steven Thompson admitted the derby is "a huge game" but suggested "there's no panic yet" this early in the season.

Meanwhile, former Aberdeen manager Barry Robson suggested the appointment of former County boss Malky Mackay as sporting director means Gray has someone with great experience "to lean on" and that Hibs should "stick with him".

Gray 'out of depth' as 'drop beckons'

Many Hibs fans responding to our "Have Your Say" section are not so forgiving, understanding, or hopeful.

Fergis: We are relegation certainties. Not really sure what we work on in training, but we are losing simple goals with schoolboy defending. I fear for us next week against Hearts and hate to say it but really think David Gray is out of his depth here.

Cameron: Horrendous. Pathetic. Woeful. Embarrassing. I've said it all season and been proven right every single week, we have absolutely NO fight in this team. Defence is an absolute shambles and we just cannot see out games when in front. Relegation beckons, even at this stage of the season.

Colin: Summed up our season. Gutless, hopeless and hapless. You can't make excuses any more. We've thrown points away by consistent poor defending and a lack of resilience. We shouldn't be where we are and our problems start with poor manager hiring and firing.

Neil: Again a stupid tackle when already on a yellow costs us and Joe Newell's the club captain. Whoever thought the keeper was a number one... questions have to be asked.

Alex: An absolute disgrace! The team have no backbone, no resilience, no clue... the defence is shocking and act like rabbits caught in the headlights. Malky Mackay, Gray, Ben Kensell need to head for the exit door. Championship next year beckons.

John: The only way this team will see a clean sheet is if they work in a laundry.

'Must-win' derby next

Gray is as "angry" and frustrated as the fans and suggested: "Joe is very disappointed in himself because I think, if we keep 11 players on the pitch, we win the game.

"That's an excuse, because after that, we still need to be better. But every time we are asked a question at the moment, we're coming up short and also being punished for every individual error that we're making."

Former Newcastle and Crystal Palace striker Dwight Gayle thought he had won the game with his first goal since joining Hibs but concluded: "The last two games have not been good enough, we know that ourselves.

"It's always a 'must-win' game against your city rivals, but even more so now after the last two performances."