Last June Hibs appointed ‘Sir’ David Gray as head coach, but a dreadful start to the season that included a defeat to Kelty Hearts meant the club went into the League Cup knockout stages unseeded.
The inevitable defeat to Celtic at Parkhead was followed a terrible start to the league campaign.
Individual errors, red cards and the concession of late goals saw points dropped from winning positions against Kilmarnock, Dundee, Dundee United and Hearts.
Gray’s job looked under threat as the team vied with Hearts at the foot of the table and when high-flying Aberdeen visited Easter Road at the end of November, speculation on his future was rife.
But everything changed with Rocky Bushiri’s now famous 96th-minute equaliser in the 3-3 draw which was followed by a 3-0 away win over Motherwell.
What followed was incredible.
A run of 17 league games unbeaten is the club’s longest since 1947. The run included two victories over Hearts, the first win at Ibrox in seven years and victory over champions Celtic at Easter Road.
Gray won three Manager of the Month awards and for only the fourth time this century Hibs finished in third place.
Gray said: “It’s an unbelievable achievement. From where we were, the hard work, the togetherness, everything, going through that adversity, but to manage to secure third place with a game to spare is massive credit to the players.
“They fully deserve it. To a man, they gave me absolutely everything all season, the staff, everybody involved, always believed in the group. And we’ve had the rewards for that.
“I’m also delighted that the club showed the faith in me during that difficult time. Going through that period, I found out a lot about myself, but also, you know, the club had to stay strong during the moments. Because the points return at that stage was nowhere near good enough and I knew that I was responsible for that.
“I think we fully deserve it for what we’ve done this season. I’m over the moon for everyone.”
