Hibernian

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Hosting a Celtic side on a high from Thursday's Europa League win over Feyenoord is a "very good" game for Hibernian after their midweek defeat by Motherwell, head coach David Gray insists.

"I'm looking for a reaction and I know I'll get it from the players," he said of Sunday's game.

"We've got a home crowd, early kick-off, live on the telly, I think it's what players should come to this football club for, an opportunity to test themselves against one of the best in the league."

It is expected to be Martin O'Neill's final game as Celtic interim manager before a permanent appointment is made.

"A lot of people have said they've not had a brilliant start to the season, but they're in the cup final, they've just won in Europe away," Gray said.

"I think obviously with Martin O'Neill and his staff coming in, they've steadied the ship, they've won some big results and, if it is to be their last game, I'm sure they'll want to go out on a high.

"Our opportunity now is to try and make sure that doesn't happen. Regardless of who the manager is, whatever their form is, they've got top players, players that play European football for a reason, so we know the challenge will be difficult."

Hibs missed the chance to narrow the gap with second-top Celtic to two points on Tuesday as Motherwell drew level with Gray's side on goal difference.

"You can't dwell on things like that, but I did think it was important we didn't just sweep it under the carpet," he added.

"The biggest disappointment from my point of view, and where my frustration came from, was it was just so unlike us as a performance.

"It's not as if I've had to do this a lot, but I had to go over it and I had to be quite blunt. We got sucked into a way of playing, I believe, for the first 20-25 minutes which is not the way we've played."

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Image source, SNS

Hibernian head coach David Gray has been talking to the media before his side's Premiership clash with Celtic on Sunday.

Here are the best bits from his news conference:

• Gray says the fact Easter Road is one of only two Scottish stadiums included in the UK bid for the 2023 Women's World Cup is a fitting legacy for former owner Ron Gordon.

• Gray says Hibs have already moved on and recovered from the disappointing midweek loss at Fir Park. He says "you can't dwell" on a defeat, but expects a "reaction" in front of their own fans.

• The frustration stems from the performance being "so unlike us" and being "sucked into" the game Motherwell wanted.

• There have been some honest discussions between the players about what went wrong against Motherwell, but Gray says that happens all the time as they are an honest group.

• He praised Celtic's win against Feyenoord, which he says was great for them and Scottish football as a whole.

• With Sunday possibly Martin O'Neill's last match as Celtic interim manager, Gray knows they will come to Easter Road determined to win for the Northern Irishman, who has won all of his domestic matches so far.

• The Hibs boss adds: "They'll want to go out on a high and our opportunity now is to try and make sure that doesn't happen. Regardless of who the manager is, whatever their form is, they've got top players, players that play European football for a reason, so we know the challenge will be difficult."

• Team news: Junior Hoilett misses out with a hip injury but Josh Campbell is available again.

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Hibernian's Easter Road is one of 22 venues included in the the UK's bid to host the 2035 Women's World Cup.

Hampden Park in Glasgow is the only other Scottish stadium listed.

Edinburgh and Glasgow are two of the 16 host cities across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The UK's joint bid stands unopposed and could be ratified by a vote in a Fifa congress in 2026.

Easter Road hosted Scotland women's win over Hungary in the Euro 2025 play-off semi-final play-off second leg in Ocotber last year.

Hibs chairman Ian Gordon said: "We are delighted to be part of the UK's exciting bid to host the 2035 Fifa Women's World Cup.

"Since my family and I became majority shareholders in Hibernian FC we have been extremely passionate about the development of women's football.

"As a club we have made huge strides over the last few years and have tried to support the Scotland national team at Easter Road whenever opportunities arose.

"We are strongly supporting the bid to host the Women's World Cup and believe a proposal of this kind can leave a lasting legacy on the women's game."

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• After their 2-1 win in February, Hibs could enjoy back-to-back home league victories over Celtic for the first time since December 2018.

• Since the start of 2017-18, Celtic have won just 27% of their league visits to Easter Road (four/15), their lowest away win rate against any opponent in the Scottish Premiership in this period.

• Hibs have only lost one of their past 18 home league games (W11 D6), going down 1-0 to Rangers in October.

• Celtic have won three successive league games without conceding. The Hoops last won more in a row in December 2024 (seven), and last did so while keeping a clean sheet each time in their opening six league matches of last season.

• No side has scored more 90th-minute (or later) winners in the Premiership this season than Celtic (three, level with Hearts), including Callum McGregor last time out at St Mirren. The last club to score more in a single campaign in the competition were Rangers in 2016-17 (five).

• Against Motherwell on Tuesday night, Hibs had just two shots, their lowest in a Premiership match since February 2022 against Celtic (also two), and the joint fewest any side has managed in a single match in the competition in 2025-26 (Dundee also two v Hibs in August).

• Celtic's Callum McGregor has been involved in 76 open play sequences ending in a shot in the Premiership this season – at least 13 more than any other player.

• Hibs have scored five goals following high turnovers in the league – more than any other team – despite the fact only two teams have had fewer shots following high turnovers than David Gray's side (10) in the division this term (Aberdeen eight, Dundee seven).

Hibernian are "hurting" following their midweek loss to Motherwell, says Chris Cadden. (Edinburgh Evening News - subscription required), external

Read Thursday's Scottish gossip

Was David Gray tactically outwitted by Motherwell counterpart Jens Berthel Askou in Hibs' defeat at Fir Park?

Hibs' run of back-to-back wins was ended by a 2-0 loss, compounded by Grant Hanley's first-half red card.

Former Easter Road midfielder Scott Allan thinks Hibs were caught out by the hosts' set-up.

"Hibs will be really disappointed, but they just couldn't get to grips with it," he said on the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"They did the set-up all week, expecting Motherwell to have four at the back, and they found out after half an hour it was something different, a back three.

"That's the difficult thing for Gray, because they hadn't changed all season. Askou changed last night and it was arguably Motherwell's performance of the season.

"Once Askou gave you a completely different thing to think about, it's very hard to then change that within the game, against that sort of shape, that was the biggest thing.

"Askou, after the game, basically highlighted the plan was to leave Hanley on the ball. They'd left him on the ball, and once he played the square passes, that was the trigger to press aggressively.

"He wanted to highlight the one v one with Tawanda Maswanhise and Hanley. They pressed the two outside centre-backs, and Hibs just really struggled to deal with it."

Scottish coach and analyst John Walker says the Hibs back three are all susceptible to a howler.

"That's the funny thing about Hibs, when I look at their back three of Rocky Bushiri, Hanley and Jack Iredale, I look at people who are capable of having nines out of tens and going to Ibrox and keeping clean sheets and beating Rangers or Celtic," said Walker.

"But I also look at that defence and every one of them can get a red card and have an absolute howler of a night. Unfortunately for Hanley, who's just came off the back of probably the best week of his footballing life, that's all it was.

"Hibs just need to get through this little spell. Gray's got the experience of turning things around as well, so Hibs will be absolutely fine."

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We asked for your views on Hibernian's 2-0 defeat against Motherwell in which Grant Hanley was sent off in the first half.

Here are some of your comments:

Andy: Hibs will bounce back on Sunday. Celtic still reeling after another European defeat can be beaten at Easter Road.

Bill: This was no shock, we have a poor defence. Rocky Bushiri and Grant Hanley are slow. We are nowhere near the team from last season, departing guys not replaced. Top four or five will be a tough ask. The formation is not working.

Ringo: A terrible performance just when you think Hibs are getting somewhere, they always let you down. Far too many defenders making mistakes, how many times does this happen? If Martin Boyle scores then maybe we are back in the game, how he misses is beyond me.

Neil: A blueprint for how to beat Hibs. Motherwell completely disarmed us and we had no answers. That wasn't individual errors in the first 25 minutes, it was a one-dimensional performance from us, Motherwell completely dominated and we showed no agility in response.

Kenny: From the best game of the season to the worst in four days. What is it with this team? We simply didn't turn up. We only made one clear-cut chance and Boyle missed it when it would have easier to score. We need to get our act together for Sunday. Very disappointed.

Michael: Absolutely shocking performance from Hibs. You could see the formation and shape wasn't working 15 minutes into the game, but David Gray refuses to change. There never seems to be a gameplan or tactics. A few wins against the two bottom clubs of the league, a poor Aberdeen team and fans think we are world class. A good experienced manager would have this team comfortably sitting second.

Scott: Comprehensively outplayed by Motherwell for most of that game, Hibs never really got going after that sloppy opening 20 minutes. The midfield were really poor in possession consistently giving the ball away while the defending was disjointed. Even if Boyle had used his left foot, Hibs were not good enough to get anything from that game. Too many players just didn't turn up which will be a concern for Gray.

Hibernian head coach David Gray feels Motherwell scorer Tawanda Maswanhise was fortunate not to be sent off for an attempted headbutt on Jack Iredale in Hibs' 2-0 defeat by Well at Fir Park on Tuesday. (Edinburgh Evening News - subscription required), external

Read Thursday's Scottish gossip

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Hibernian head coach David Gray told BBC Scotland: "Everything that could have gone wrong in the first 20, 25 minutes certainly did. In the end, we got what we deserved for that 25-minute display.

"Really poor, really slow. Everything we didn't want to do. Motherwell didn't do anything different from what we thought [they would] to catch us out.

"It's unlike us. It's not as if it was individual, there was lots of errors between us in that performance. Compounded by that was a few decisions that went against us, but they came about from really poor play from us so I won't put it down to that.

"We're really up against it, 2-0 down, down to 10 men, but one thing is they didn't throw the towel in. They kept running right to the very end.

"There's a big moment just before half-time [Martin Boyle shot cleared off the line]. If we go in at 2-1 down, having been as poor as we were, it would have been big.

"I can't fault the effort second half, the players tried to keep going, tried to carry a threat. But tonight we got what we deserved.

On Grant Hanley's dismissal... "It was a factual decision, and it's the letter of the law. It's an accidental trip but it's a red card.

On the penalty decision... "I'm not sure what he's meant to do with that. The shot is clearly going miles wide. Grant hasn't made himself any bigger, he's not even trying to block the shot.

"The biggest issue for me is inconsistency. What I just watched at Ibrox four days ago... Inconsistency is the problem. I don't know the rule."

Motherwell swept past 10-man Hibernian at Fir Park, moving level on points with the Edinburgh side, who hang on to third place in the Scottish Premiership after a hapless display.

Read the full match report here.

Have your say here.

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• Motherwell have lost their past two league games against Hibs, last losing three in a row to the Leith side in August 2018.

• Hibs have only lost one of their past eight league visits to Motherwell (W4 D3), going down 2-1 in August 2023 under Lee Johnson.

• Motherwell have lost just one of their past 10 home games in the Scottish Premiership (W5 D4), a 2-1 reverse to Falkirk in October.

• Hibs have only suffered three defeats in their past 18 away games in the Premiership (W7 D8), including just one in their latest eight (W3 D4), a 1-0 derby loss to Hearts in October.

• Motherwell have won their past three midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) league games, last winning four in a row in January 2020. Meanwhile, Hibernian are winless in nine Premiership matches played on a Tuesday (D6 L3), drawing their past five in a row on this day of the week.

Matty Fairnie
Fan writer

Despite a miss he'll want to forget, Kieron Bowie got back among the goals last Saturday and the Scotland striker will have pleased David Gray with his all-round play in the win over Dundee.

With five goals in 20 games, Bowie has not had the strike rate he would want so far this season.

A marginal offside call went against him at Livingston and he could have been forgiven for thinking it wasn't his day again on Saturday when he passed up two glorious chances before eventually finding the net with some style for his first goal in 10 games to put Hibs ahead.

The key thing for Bowie is he got into the right positions. Good strikers miss easy chances all the time, they're just there to score the next one.

We haven't seen that enough from the 23-year-old this season, but Saturday showed what a great eye for goal the boy has.

If Bowie keeps finding himself between the goals to take advantage of the work of the likes of Nicky Cadden, Martin Boyle, and Jamie McGrath around him, then he could fire himself into Steve Clarke's World Cup squad next summer.

That's a huge incentive for Bowie, and he'll be impossible to ignore if he puts in more performances like Saturday's.

The same can be said for Josh Mulligan. The 23-year-old has made Clarke's squad once already and been a joy to watch in the middle of the park this season. He too should be looking to shine over the rest of the season to give Clarke something to think about.

We just have to try to find a Scottish granny for goalkeeper Raphael Sallinger. The big Austrian pulled off two saves that had the crowd off their feet on Saturday, and a Scottish link would solve a big issue for the Scotland boss.

You can find Matty Fairnie at Longbangers podcast, external

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Image source, SNS

David Gray has praised his players for turning Hibernian's fortunes around after a momentous moment 12 months ago that changed the destiny of both the club and their head coach.

It will be one year to the day on Wednesday since Hibs snatched a last-minute equaliser against Aberdeen in a dramatic 3-3 draw at Easter Road.

Hibs were languishing at the bottom of the Scottish Premiership with only the one league win at the time.

A section of fans were calling for the rookie manager to be sacked, but after the draw against the Dons, they went on an unbeaten run that lasted until March and they eventually finished in third spot in the table.

"It's been quite a quick year to be honest," Gray said as he looked forward to Tuesday's trip to face Motherwell with his side sitting in third again, three places and three points above their hosts.

"When I think about that first period, I certainly learnt a lot in the first year in terms of management, and what my first year looked like from maybe being 30 seconds away from potentially losing your job.

"When you think about the fact that we went, was it 3-2 down with 30 seconds to go?"

Gray suggested the "success" of last season had brought a "feel-good factor around the club" that has them "moving in the right direction" and currently in "a good position".

However, he insisted "that's all we've done though" and there is still hard work to be done.

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Image source, SNS

Hibernian head coach David Gray has been speaking to the media as his side prepare for Tuesday night's clash at Motherwell.

Here are the main points:

• Gray says there's been a real "feel-good factor" growing in the last 12 months at Easter Road, a year on from their 3-3 draw with Aberdeen that sparked their change of fortunes

• The Hibs boss knows he will lose a number of players to international duty in January due to the Africa Cup of Nations but believes his side "have the squad to cope".

• Gray adds that processes are "all in place" for the January transfer window when it opens and they'll look to "improve" areas of the squad if they can.

• His side are looking forward to facing and "exciting" Motherwell for the first time this season but are aware of the "threats" Jens Berthel Askou's side could pose.

Jonathan Sutherland
Sportscene presenter

Hibernian picked up another important victory against Dundee on Saturday and they've got three players in my team of the week.

Raphael Sallinger made a string of top saves to frustrate Dundee to grab a clean sheet as Hibs took all three points.

Unlucky with a terrific effort off the crossbar but Jamie McGrath would get his fifth Premiership goal of the season with a fine low strike just inside the near post.

Watch the Sportscene panel analyse Kieron Bowie's performance for Hibernian against Dundee in the Scottish Premiership.

Watch all the highlights from Hibernian's 2-0 win over Dundee in the Scottish Premiership.

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We asked for your views on Hibs' 2-0 victory over Dundee on Saturday.

Here's what you had to say:

Martin: Great performance where we controlled the ball for large periods. The pleasing thing for me is our midfield three are really starting to gel especially Dan Barlaser who was outstanding. Special mention to Raphael Sallinger who made two top drawer saves, now onto Fir Park on Tuesday which should be a cracker.

Willie: Some very good moments in the game, two good goals. The subs were an issue and goalkeeper makes two great saves. The last 20-25 minutes should have been a lot comfier than it was.

Gordon: Hibs cruised through this game and should have had it done and dusted by half time. Grant Hanley strolls through every league game, and Jamie McGrath was excellent as well. Our keeper had two brilliant saves late on but Hibs deserved the win and it could have been more. Onwards and upwards.

Paul: A routine victory for the Hibees, total control, the only negative is that we didn't score more goals. Man of the match for me was McGrath, he was immense. I think Sallinger is improving each game in goals. The next two games are huge maximum points would make us serious candidates to go close to winning the league.

Kenny: Great all round performance but just a pity we missed the early chances and the game would have been over by half time. Great to see Kieron Bowie scoring and there were some great individual performances and also some very good teamwork. This is more like it.

George: Best league performance of season so far. Great football, played Dundee off the park. But again, sloppy finishing almost cost us as Dundee upped the anti in final 15 minutes.

Back-to-back wins for Hibs and back-to-back clean sheets.

Hibs fans must be happy with a comfortable three points at Easter Road, even if there were a couple of late scares.

Read the match report here.

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