Hibs head coach David Gray expects a tough test when his side bid to reach the semi-finals of the Premier Sports Cup against Ross County this weekend.
Hibs travel to Global Energy Stadium on Saturday to face Stuart Kettlewell’s side, who currently sit second in William Hill League One, as they look to return to Hampden for the first time since November 2023.
But the Staggies – who were in the Scottish Premiership just over a year ago, before suffering back-to-back relegations – are strongly fancied to bounce back into the second tier.
So Gray and his players are fully aware that any complacency within their performance could result in a cup upset in Dingwall.
In his pre-match press conference with reporters at the HTC on Friday, Gray said:“In my opinion, it’s very clear that we’ve got an opportunity at the weekend to get our hands on something that we’ve not been able to deliver in the last couple of seasons.
“Every single season we speak about it, but it is right in front of us.
“It’s an opportunity to try and get to Hampden. Whether we’ve won the last five games or lost the last five games, this is an opportunity to get to Hampden.
“It’s as straightforward as that for me, and I think it’s exactly what the players’ mindsets need to be going into it.
“It is a massive incentive.
“I think it’s something I speak a lot to the players about on day one of pre-season, and ever since I’ve been at the Football Club, about the opportunity to try and win something and what that can do.
“Some players can go through their whole career and never win anything or never get to semi-finals and cup finals. Scottish football is a wee bit different.
“You can have a few really positive results and a positive cup run, or you can get to Hampden – some of the players haven’t played at the National Stadium before.
“When you’re trying to entice new players to come, the opportunity to try and do it is a big one, and we’ve got a chance to go and do that this weekend.
“We’re playing against a team that, yes, are currently sitting in League One, but they’re not a League One outfit in my opinion at all.
“They’ve got a Scottish Premiership-level manager, a really experienced backroom team, and players that have played in the Premiership.
“I know they’ve gone down and down again, but they started really well, kept the group together, and have a lot of top-level players within it.
“So, in my opinion, they’re in a false position, but they find themselves where they are.
“It’s certainly not going to be an easy game by any stretch of the imagination, and we all know what cup football is about.
“It’s a one-off game, and the carrot is there for both sides, as we know.
“We just need to make sure that we’re not talking about bouncing back. It’s about making sure you’re in the next round of the cup and have a chance to get to the semi-final.
“I think I spoke a lot after the game about individually making sure that you take responsibility. I’ve seen that in training already, which is great, but seeing it in training is one thing, and it needs to then go into the game.
“You need to take that into the game the way we’ve trained all week, with that real desire to make sure we put it right as quickly as we can. That certainly needs to go into the game tomorrow.
“It’s also about reminding the players that, yes, we’ve been really disappointed with the last two results, certainly the performance of the St Johnstone game, but it can’t affect that now.
“What we can do is remind the players of when we’re good, how good we can be, and what that looks like to make sure the players are going into the game full of confidence, full of belief, and we’re all pulling in the same direction.
“That’s the best way to get that reaction, and the players are ready to go and do that.”
