David Gray’s time as head coach at Hibs finally felt inevitable on Tuesday night, with an Easter Road atmosphere as hostile as any I can remember. The writing was on the wall: this was one poor performance too many for the Hibs faithful, especially after bafflingly poor displays in Perth and the Edinburgh derby.
Gray’s Legacy Can’t Mask the Recent Slide
Look, Hibs will lose to teams worse than Kilmarnock, but the manner of that defeat, coming right after a dismal first 45 minutes in the Edinburgh derby and struggles in Perth, left Gray with no way back. It’s a tough pill to swallow because Gray will always be a club legend. As head coach, he truly made history: consecutive top-five finishes for the first time in seven years, securing back-to-back European campaigns, three straight wins at Ibrox, and finally ending that painfully long wait for a victory at Parkhead. Plus, that Christmas derby win that derailed Hearts’ title challenge last season? He’s got a lot to be proud of.
Beyond Gray: The Mackay Problem Is Bigger
But we have to shift focus beyond Gray now, and straight to Malky Mackay. His role in this whole mess? Massive. That summer recruitment looked incoherent at best, leaving the squad short on real quality and seriously lacking options to change games from the bench. Gray can absolutely feel frustrated by the players he was given to work with, no question. The Gordon family needs to be asking some serious questions about the club’s direction right now. The next managerial appointment is huge, not just for the team’s future, but for rebuilding any shred of confidence among the supporters. It’s hard to say there’s widespread trust in the people making that decision right now, and that’s the scariest part.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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