Hibs Head Coach David Gray is anticipating a tough test against Falkirk tonight
And he insists that his side has “no time” to wallow following their Premier Sports Cup exit.
Two late first-half goals from Rangers knocked Hibs out of the Premier Sports Cup at the quarter-final stage on Saturday evening, but now attentions must immediately return to the league as a tricky trip to the Falkirk Stadium awaits.
Gray sees the quick turnaround as a positive, and is looking forward to the potential outcome of sitting third in the standings should we prevail over John McGlynn’s side.
“Initially you’re disappointed to not be in the cup anymore, off the back of a defeat, it’s always a tough one.
“The benefit is we’ve got a game very quickly and there’s no time straight after the game to feel sorry for ourselves. This is an opportunity to go and try and get three points in the league, which, if we can do that after five games, it’d be a good return sitting third in the league.
“It’ll be a difficult game, it always is at Falkirk,” Gray added. “I think we’re coming up against a team that has been very successful for the last couple of seasons. They’ve got a winning mentality because of that.
“They’ve kept a lot of the group together. They’ve got a very good coach that is obviously very experienced and has been in the game for a very long time. That will be a tough test in itself.
“I’m sure the atmosphere will be very good as well. I think it could be a sell-out, which is always good. If we can play to the levels we’ve set already domestically, I think we give ourselves the best chance.
“When you look at the fixtures so far and the points return we’ve got for the games we’ve played, you’d be looking to have more points potentially on how the games have went. But the Premiership is not as easy as that. We know that.
“The games are always very difficult and we’re going to have to be at our very best again. But if we can go and get three points, that’s how quickly the narrative can change and then it’s a real positive start to the season.”
While it was a hearty battle at Ibrox on Saturday, Gray has revealed that there is no fresh injury concerns of note while providing a team news update.
“There’s a few bumps and bruises as you’d expect from the game, but nothing significant. It was obviously a strong squad we had at the weekend. It’ll be another strong squad tomorrow night.
“It was good to see Rudi [Molotnikov] get some minutes as well. He’s been doing really well in training. It’s good to have him back and able to get minutes.
“It’ll be a very similar squad to what it was on Saturday night.”
