Head Coach David Gray wants his players to keep up the momentum following Saturday’s victory over Ross County.
Hibs return to William Hill Premiership action tomorrow Tuesday 15 September 2026 at home to Kilmarnock, while a fixture against Aberdeen at Easter Road on Saturday follows.
Speaking to Hibs TV about the upcoming matches, Gray said: “There’s no better way to recover than putting yourselves into the semi-final of the Cup, so that’s very much a big positive for everybody moving forward and something to build on.
“It was a difficult, and it’s not an easy thing to do, but we need to then go and build on that.
“We know our home form in the league hasn’t been where it needs to be, and we’ve got a chance for two home games coming up, so there’s nothing more important than tomorrow night to change that.
“I think I said that going into this sort of period that you want to try and get as many points as we can going into this international break, and then it gives the players a bit of an opportunity for a breather because it has been really gruelling for the group.
“There have been a lot of fixtures, some highs, some lows along the way as well, but if we can finish really strongly, it’s been a really good start to the season when you strip it back.
“There have been some moments within it that haven’t been where it needs to be, but there’s always context to everything, and I think the biggest and most pleasing thing for me was the reaction at the weekend because of the pressure that the players were under to deliver a big performance and a big result.”
Hibs look to record their first home league win of the season against Kilmarnock, and despite Neil McCann’s side currently occupying bottom spot in the table, Gray knows his side cannot afford to take them for granted.
He added: “We’re expecting a difficult game, and if you ask Neil (McCann) himself, he won’t have started the way he’d hoped his side have started.
“But one thing Neil has done since he went in there is a very good job, especially at the back end of the last season.
“He’s a really good coach, and you can see that in the way he coaches the players, so I expect the same again tomorrow.
“There are always wee surprises when you come up against Neil McCann’s team, so we need to be ready for that.
“But we want to try and start the way we started up in Dingwall, which is really on the front foot.
“It’s something that I made a big onus on, trying to start on the front foot and get after them, because we’ve not done that enough in the last couple of games.
“It was much more like us, and there was much more to be pleased about, but now it’s about continuing that, and finding a bit more consistency on that, and that’s the challenge for us tomorrow night.”
Gray also confirmed we have no fresh injury concerns to contend with ahead of tomorrow’s clash, and provided a positive update on Grant Hanley.
“The biggest thing for me after the game was to try and make sure we didn’t lose anybody from that squad,” said the Head Coach.
“We are very light in certain areas, and added to that, I didn’t have to risk Owen Elding and was able to give Martin Boyle a rest as well, which was good because that does give us more options in the top end of the pitch.
“Added to that, the players that came in will be feeling good about themselves as well, with a couple of goals and the chances we created, which is great because we’re going to need everybody this week.
“Grant Hanley trained this morning, and he’s come through training, which is positive as well, so all being well, he’ll add to the group that was available at the weekend there.
“He’s the only one that’s returning at this moment in time, but it’s probably needed because we’re a bit lighter in defensive areas.”
