Hibs’ latest signing David Gray is delighted to be back in his native Scotland after ten years south of the border and he had no hesitation in signing for the Easter Road club despite having once been on the books of rivals Hearts. He also insists that his spell at Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson where he trained alongside world class stars will pay dividends in his future career. Speaking at the pre Berwick Rangers match press conference at the Training ground, the 26 year old said: “This is a great opportunity for me and I was delighted to take the chance of playing at such a big club. I’ve spoken to the manager and I know some of the lads who are playing here at the minute and everyone is really enthusiastic about the up and coming season. “It (Playing against Hearts) doesn’t bother me. I’m a professional football player at the end of the day and I’ll be 150% wanting Hibs to win. “The day I signed for Manchester United was special and I was a bit star struck but making my debut was probably the highlight because then you can say you’ve played for Man U. I knew the day before when we were shaping up. Sir Alex said, ‘you’re going to be playing tomorrow’. It was brilliant to hear that. The back four that night was myself, Wes Brown, Mikael Silvestre and Gabriel Heinze, it was quite a strong back four. It was a horrible windy night at Crewe and we won 2-1 after extra time. “I was very fortunate to get that education at Man United. You’re almost spoiled as a player. It’s top class facilities, coaches and physios – it’s just great. “You’re lucky enough to train and play with some of the best players in the world and you can see what they do on a day to day basis, how professional they are and what they’ve had to do to get to where they’re at. It stands you in good stead on and off the pitch in how you should conduct yourself. From a learning point of view, it was different class. Paul Scholes was the best for me from training with him. If you’re on his team, you win. He’s a different class. “I started off as a winger / striker because I was quick I used to play up front then toward the end of the season I was moved to right back for one game which was a bounce game for the reserves and the way they play you still get to get forward then after the game I had a chat with the staff and that said they wanted to try me in that position and it took off from there. Gray will make his debut against Berwick Rangers today at Shielfield Park.
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
