David Gray is determined to secure a fourth-place finish as Hibs host Motherwell on the final day of the William Hill Premiership season tomorrow.
Hibs currently sit fifth in the table – one point behind The Steelmen – knowing only a victory will guarantee European football next season and secure a top-four finish.
Hibs go into this one full of confidence after back-to-back away wins over Falkirk and Rangers in the last seven days, setting up a dramatic finish to the campaign.
Speaking to Hibs TV ahead of the game, Gray was eager to finish the campaign on a high and insists his players are relishing the occasion.
“After a slow start to the split, we knew we needed to try and get three wins to give ourselves the best chance.
“We’ve got two out of three so far, and we needed Motherwell to drop points to give us the opportunity to take it to the last day – and that’s happened.
“We’ve now got the opportunity to catch the team in front of us. It’ll be a difficult game, but one the players are ready for, with the momentum behind us and everyone in a really good place.
“It’s that cup-final attitude we’re going into the game with again.”
At this stage of the season, results are the most important thing, and Gray insists his players are building momentum at a key time of the season.
“From a coaching point of view, you always look at the performance because you’re always trying to improve and analyse different situations in the game.
“But the biggest thing at this stage was all about results because without the result, we could have had the best performance at Ibrox and still not have won the game. It was all about winning, and we knew that going into it.
“We made a massive point of that. The game plan is to win every single game, of course it is, but in the last 15 or 20 minutes the players really threw caution to the wind and went after Rangers to make sure we did everything possible to get that chance and take it.
“We were clinical on the night, and it’s going to have to be more of the same.
“We’re going to face a Motherwell side that have been consistent all season, and we need to make sure we put in a complete performance.
“One more to go, the incentive is there for every player, and the rewards are certainly there at the back of it as well. Motherwell are now the only team we haven’t beaten this season, and I know there’s an inner drive from the players to change that.
“We’re certainly going in with the best possible frame of mind and a really strong squad as well. Rudi Molotnikov is the only one who will miss the game through injury. Everybody else has trained, and thankfully nobody else is suspended, which keeps the squad as healthy as it can be.
“That’s going to be important because of the magnitude of the game and because of the potential changes that might need to be made, because it’s all about winning.”
The match is set to be Martin Boyle’s last for the club bringing an end to a glistening Hibs career, which has seen him score 110 goals in 406 appearances to date. Gray is eager to give Boyle the send-off he deserves.
“Martin Boyle deserves a proper send-off for what he’s done for the Football Club.
“I’ve spoken a lot about Boyle in recent weeks and his contribution. It’s no surprise that he goes and gets big goals again in the latter stages of the season – he’s done that his whole career.
“I don’t know exactly how many goals he’s scored, 110 I think, and the number of appearances he’s made means he deserves to go out on a high. When you speak to him, he certainly wants that as well. I think his level of performance has reflected that in recent weeks too.
“So there’s one more to go for him and for us to make sure we get what we deserve from the season, which would be a fourth-place finish.”
