Latest news with #oftheRest
Scotsman
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
Hibs boss hopes Euro hopefuls bag Scottish Cup extra time bonus
Third place finish in Scottish Premiership brings no guarantee of extended summer break for weary players Sign up to our Hibs football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Hibs boss David Gray has revealed how he used the incentive of extra time off to help get his players over the line in their race to finish third in the Scottish Premiership. But he admits that Saturday's Scottish Cup final will have as much impact on close-season plans for a club staring at one of two possible paths into Europe. By proving themselves to the third best team in the country through the league table, the Easter Road side wrapping up that Best of the Rest distinction with a game to spare, Hibs COULD be guaranteed European football until January as a reward for their efforts. But that prize would fall to Aberdeen if Jimmy Thelin's underdogs pulled off a major shock by beating Brendan Rodgers' Treble-chasing Celtic at Hampden this weekend. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Dons would then go straight into the Europa League play-offs in the third week of August. And Hibs would be forced to kick off in the Europa League second qualifying round a whole MONTH earlier. Gray has made provisional plans for pre-season, with the gaffer eager to get an early start on his second season in management. There will be a training camp overseas and at least a couple of games, including closed-doors fixtures designed purely to help players gain match sharpness. But he admitted: "I think it depends really on when we come back in terms of what that first European game looks like. Because there's a difference between going into the qualifiers compared to the final play-off game. 'Our first competitive game could be in the middle of July. But if you're in the final play-off games, the first competitive game will be the opening league game of the season. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'So maybe an extra few days for the players. I used that one a few weeks ago, an extra couple of days if you go and finish third! 'So they'll all be watching the cup final as well, looking for an extra couple of days off. So it'll pretty much depend on that. But they'll have a well-earned rest coming up, which is good for them.' Scotland hopeful Kieron Bowie one of TEN Hibs players on international duty Not every member of the Hibs first team squad was able to dash straight to the airport for a much-needed getaway within hours of the final whistle blowing on Saturday's 2-2 home draw with Rangers, of course. The ever-popular June international window is extending seasons for players all over Planet Football. The number of Hibs players doing national service so has just clicked over into double figures, with Kieron Bowie's call-up by Steve Clarke giving the 22-year-old striker – a stand-out with Scott Gemmill's Under-21s – a chance to win a first senior Scotland cap. Jordan Obita has also been called up by Uganda for the first time, while Junior Hoilett is in Canada's provisional squad for next months' CONCACAF Gold Cup – and there are FOUR Hibs players in the Socceroos training group looking to secure their World Cup place. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Alasan Manneh (Gambia), Rocky Bushiri (DRC) and Nathan Moriah-Welsh (Guyana) are all away with their respective nations, as well, Gray admitting: 'The international boys are slightly different because there's quite a lot of them going away, to be fair. And they're going straight away. 'So we'll have to look at them, keep an eye on what they're doing, what their loads are like, how many games they're going to play. Because I think their final game is about the 10th of June, I believe. 'So if they're going right to the 10th of June, you still need that little bit of rest and shut down as well. Every player needs it, even just for the mental side to the game. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'And they need time to spend with their families and switch off for a bit, making sure they come back fresh. So it's about the balance of that to make sure you get the best out of everybody coming back in pre-season.'
Scotsman
26-04-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
but gaffer Gray predicts reaction in race for third
Watch more of our videos on and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565 Visit Shots! now Thrilling for neutral, agonising for fans, Euro place battle is tight and tense Sign up to our Hibs football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... We have officially reached that stage of the season once christened, by an old footballing pal with a pithy turn of phrase, as jaggy nettles time. Interesting for neutrals, agonising for supporters with skin in the game. Hibs retain possession of third place in the Scottish Premiership on goal difference, despite Kevin Nisbet's worldie of a strike at Pittodrie this afternoon, the former Easter Road favourite taking a special delight in drawing Aberdeen level on points with his old club. With Dundee United at home next weekend, David Gray's men remain the side most likely to finish Best of the Rest behind Scottish football's big two. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The first-year manager's immediate objective, of course, is to rebuild the momentum lost as an unbeaten run of 17 straight league games finally came grinding to a halt. Given everything Hibs have endured in this campaign of extremes, with the Edinburgh club sitting bottom of the table as recently as early December, they surely won't be found wanting when it comes to character. A new challenge arises in race for European places Gray, eager to bury this rare loss and resume pursuit of a prize that could carry the added bonus of guaranteed European group stage football, said: "The challenge now is that that run goes, 17 games undefeated; it shows you the incredible run we've been on, how hard we've had to work to get to this point, but also how difficult this league is. 'It's always a reminder, which is why we've always had to stay level-headed throughout it. We've never got carried away, a lot of hard work still to be done. "We've had to go on an amazing run to get to this point, to at least give us a chance and we're still well involved in it. It's not as if we've run away with it. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'It's not the result we wanted, but we've still given ourselves a fantastic opportunity, the position we're in now, four games to go, still sitting third, and it's all about the reaction now to make sure we get back on the training pitch, keep moving forward, which I'm sure we will. Because the players have done that all season. 'We've got a whole new game to come against Dundee United, so the games aren't going to get any easier, they're all massive games, everything to play for. This result today and the results elsewhere makes it really tight." It had to be a former Hibee who struck the fatal blow As soon as the ball fell to Kevin Nisbet just outside the penalty box with 10 minutes remaining, the reduced allocation of away fans in the far corner at Pittodrie should have known what to expect. In his best moments as a Hibs player, after all, Nisbet scored one or two special goals. Gray admitted: "I think you're always worried when someone has a shot from the edge of the box. But again, it's a fantastic finish, he takes a quick touch and shot. It's not as if nobody was there, I think Nicky Cadden was closest to him in the end. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad "There are things you can do to avoid every goal at certain moments, but sometimes once it gets to there, it's a good strike, it was right in the top corner. So it's probably a goal worthy of winning a game I suppose - but it doesn't make it any better for us to take.' Dundee United's loss to Celtic puts Easter Road visitors under pressure With United losing to newly-crowned champions Celtic this afternoon, Jim Goodwin's men really have to claim an away win against Hibs next weekend to put themselves properly in the mix for third place. The intensity of the competition is unlikely to drop below fever pitch. "Yeah, it was always going to be that way, six very good teams in the top six for a reason, that's how tight the league's been all season,' said Gray, the former club captain adding: 'The (United) result today, that can happen at any time, Celtic are champions for a reason, they're the best team in the league. "We've faced Dundee United a few times already this season, we know it's going to be a real difficult game. There's absolutely everything to play for still, they're all cup finals, everyone knows exactly what's at stake and how much it means to everyone involved, but it's a game we're certainly looking forward to now. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad "We'll make sure the players are ready as they always are, but again these are the games that you want to be involved in at the end of the season, challenging at the top end to try and get European football. That's the message to the players." Did Dons have bigger incentive to chase victory? There was just a slight feeling, as the game entered the closing stages, that Hibs might have been happy to settle for a draw. Maybe they played half a yard deeper. It would only be natural, after all. Against an Aberdeen side who really needed to win in order to put themselves back in the fight, did circumstances make as big a difference as any individual player contribution? Hard to say. Gray, explaining his instant emotional reaction to the rare loss, said: 'We probably didn't do enough to really go and win the game, even though I did feel pretty comfortable within it. I thought the players gave me everything. Nut being critical in terms of creating a few chances without hitting the target and making the goalkeeper work, that was probably how it went for me. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad "It's never nice, it's not a feeling we've felt for a very long time. It certainly doesn't make it any nicer when it comes along of course. But if I'm being honest, I said this to the players, one thing I'll never be critical of is that they gave me absolutely everything again today. "Performance-wise did we do enough to win the game? Probably not, but I do think it was a special goal to win the game for Aberdeen. 'There wasn't much in it, especially in the second half. It's made it a lot tighter. 'But if you told me three or four months ago, with four games to go, we'd be sitting third in the league with four games to go, I'd have been pretty happy with that. So there's still everything to play for, and it certainly makes it more interesting for the neutral.'
Scotsman
26-04-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
Ex-Hibs ace strikes to sink Easter Road men as Dons win
It had to be Kevin Nisbet, didn't it? Just as Hibs had a new club record of 18 straight top-flight games without loss just within their grasp, up popped the former Easter Road favourite with an absolute wonder goal. The Aberdeen striker's sumptuous, lobbed finish beyond a helpless Jordan Smith secured a home victory for the Dons with all sorts of implications in the race for European places. Jimmy Thelin's men are now level with David Gray's side on points, although Hibs remain in third place on goal difference; already, it feels like this race to be Best of the Rest will go right to the wire. In a Hibs team missing the injured Lewis Miller, opening the door of Warren O'Hora to return on the right side of the back three, the visitors had to defend a lot of crosses in opening exchanges that saw both sides create chances. Rocky Bushiri, a man who has stamped his name all over this fixture in the past, had the distinction of blocking a shot at both ends of the park – one from Topi Keskinen, the second an unintentional stop on team-mate Jack Iredale's goal-bound effort – in a crazy 20 minutes that also saw Martin Boyle rip one shot wide and Josh Campbell hit the post with a header. Kieron Bowie, promoted from the bench after his two goals in the ritual dismemberment of Dundee last time out, looked a handful from the outset, occupying defenders and running channels to good effect. Hibs also had a scrappy 'goal' disallowed for a foul on the keeper. Gray's men would have known that a draw suited them, of course, in terms of fending off Aberdeen's challenge for third place. But that didn't stop them from giving as good as they got. Chris Cadden probably should have crossed instead of shot with an opening that fell to him, allowing Leighton Clarkson to clear. And Campbell miscued a shot from decent range at a reasonable angle. Aberdeen throwing Hibs-bound Jamie McGrath into the contest was certainly a bold move, as Sir Humphrey would put it. Aye son, go on and play yourself out of Europe next season … As it transpired, Nisbet was the man to make the difference, picking up a half-cleared ball just outside the box and finishing with impeccable technique. It looked like he enjoyed the moment, to say the least. 1 . GK Jordan Smith 6.5/10 Could do nothing about the goal. Really good in his distribution, both with feet and through some excellent throws. Made an excellent injury-time stop from Dabbagh to keep it at 1-0. | SNS Group Photo Sales 2 . RCB Warren O'Hora 6/10 Irish centre-half marked his first start since March with an assured performance, slotting into a defensive unit comfortable in playing a high line. | SNS Group Photo Sales 3 . CB Rocky Bushiri 6/10 Involved in a lot of goal mouth action at both ends. Could he have got more on the clearing header that fell to Nisbet? | SNS Group Photo Sales 4 . LCB Jack Iredale With the ink on his new three-year deal barely dry, Iredale brought his usual aggression and discipline to a solid defensive display. Sacrificed late on as Hibs went for broke. | SNS Group Photo Sales
