Hibs head coach David Gray praised his players after yesterday’s dramatic 2-1 victory over Rangers at Ibrox.
Josh Campbell opened the scoring from the penalty spot, but the hostseventually found an equaliser after Miguel Chaiwa unfortunately turned Djeidi Gassama’s cross into his own net.
The points looked set to be shared, but for Callum Wright, who popped up in the third minute of stoppage time to net a dramatic winner – sparking wild scenes in the away end.
Speaking to Hibs TV after the match, Gray said: “It’s a brilliant feeling. You can see the scenes at the end, enjoying it with the fans, and I think that’s all part of it.
“I thought in the first half especially, we were excellent, and we restricted Rangers to very little. We were really disciplined in our shape and changed the shape as well without the ball, with that back four, making sure that we were solid through the middle. I thought we had the best moments in the first half.
“Obviously, we got the goal from the penalty, and from then on we had a couple of chances after that, so maybe we could have gone in 2-0 up, but it was certainly a strong performance.
“In the second half, you always know there’s going to be a reaction from Rangers, and credit to them because they put us under a lot of pressure.
“To come here and win, you need every single player to put their body on the line – I certainly got that today.
“You need your goalkeeper to stand up and make big saves, and he did. I think they had nine shots on target, something like that, and there were big blocks all over the pitch. It was a real complete performance, but the mentality was also tested.
“When you get to 85 minutes and Rangers equalise, for all that goes on, it would have been easy to then crumble and buckle. There’s still ten minutes or so to play, especially in this atmosphere with 50,000 people and the momentum with Rangers, but credit to the players – they went and found a way to win the game, which is brilliant.
“You’ve seen that in the last minute with the goal we get. I’ve got five or six players sprinting forward to make sure we try to do everything we can to win the game. I’m delighted for them all, and they deserve all the praise.”
The win is the third time a Hibs team have won at Ibrox in three consecutive seasons in the top-flight, backing up previous victories in April 2025 and May 2026. Gray admitted he used that as motivation for the players in the lead-up to today.
He added: “It’s a difficult place to come. I set the challenge for the players before the game. It’s never been done before for Hibs – three consecutive seasons to come here and win, and we’ve recreated history in a positive way today. I think the players deserve all the credit for that.
“It’s a special place to come and win. We’ve been fortunate enough to do it now three seasons in a row, which is great.
“It’s great for the squad as well because we changed a lot today, making four changes. For players that haven’t played as many minutes, getting on the pitch today and playing a massive part in a huge win is only going to be good for us moving forward.
“Everybody individually can feel really good about themselves and feel part of a really strong group. Added to that, more minutes into the boys and we’re going to get stronger.
“Josh (Campbell) missed a bit of pre-season at the start, so he had to be patient. Josh knows what I think of him, and in big games like this, when he plays, he knows how he can affect the game.
“Even just having the likes of Jamie McGrath and Callum Wright back has added to the squad. But as you say, the players that have come in haven’t played as many minutes in pre-season, and they’ve come in and done really well.”
Gray reserved special praise for the Hibs supporters who packed out the away end at Ibrox and backed the team from the first whistle to the last.
He said: “I know the fans were right behind us the whole day today, and they can go and enjoy that moment. They spend their money coming along here, but I genuinely believe now we’re at the point where there’s a bit of belief coming along that we can come here and win – I think the players are certainly playing that way.
“It’s great to go and do that. And again, for the ones that make it over to North Macedonia, which I’m sure they will, we’ll do our best to put on the best possible performance and keep building moving forward.”
