David Gray's Hibs Eye Hampden Amid Pressure

David Gray refuses to flinch. The criticism is loud, the start to the season has been poor, and the pressure is obvious, but the Hibernian head coach is staring straight at the storm and at a different kind of target – Hampden.

Hibs travel to Dingwall on Saturday knowing a win over League 1 side Ross County would take them into the last four of the Premier Sports Cup. For Gray, it would be the first semi-final of his tenure. It already feels like a significant moment in his reign.

The backdrop is far from ideal. Back-to-back Premiership defeats to Heart of Midlothian and St Johnstone have darkened the mood around Easter Road, while a golden chance to reach the Conference League slipped away. The scrutiny has followed, sharp and predictable.

Gray, though, is not pretending he didn’t see it coming.

"That's the life of a football manager," he said. "You're judged on results and that doesn't change. If I'd won three or four games in a row, I'd still put pressure on myself to be better every day.

"If you think you've completed it and stand still, football has a way of changing very quickly, both in a positive way and a negative way."

He knows that better than most. At the start of his managerial career, Hibs won just one of his first 15 league games, yet the Easter Road board stood by him. That period, he accepts, belonged to a different chapter.

"Malky [Mackay, sporting director] was also just in the door in terms of the structure and the transitional period that the club was in at that time," Gray said, acknowledging the context that bought him time then.

Now, the club is more settled. The expectations, higher. The criticism, quicker.

"Would I have expected [criticism] to come on quicker now because we're a bit more settled and we've had time to do things? Naturally. I'm not averse to criticism, I'm not shying away from it.

"I'm certainly not put off by it in terms of feeling sorry for myself. If anything, it's the opposite."

The message is clear: he is not looking for sympathy. He is looking for a response.

Hampden in sharp focus

Hibs have not reached a semi-final since November 2023, when they lost to Aberdeen in the same competition. Gray was on the coaching staff then, working under Nick Montgomery. This time, the responsibility is his alone.

"When we spoke about challenges and objectives at the start of the season, getting to Hampden was right at the very top of the list," he said.

The noise around him is growing, but he insists it will not dictate his decisions or his mood.

"If I allow the noise to affect what we're doing or distract me in any way then you just go under in that situation.

"I've been through adversity before and the focus is simply that we need to make sure we win.

"The form and everything else doesn't matter this weekend. It's about making sure everyone knows the job in hand, which is a real chance to get to Hampden."

Strip it all back and the equation is simple: win in Dingwall, and the narrative around Hibs shifts in an instant.

Dangerous opponents, lower division

On paper, a League 1 opponent in a quarter-final looks like an opportunity. Ross County, though, are not behaving like a side licking their wounds after relegation from the Championship.

They are unbeaten in the league. Veteran striker Brian Graham already has nine goals this season, one of them in a home draw with Dundee during the group stage of this very competition. They have momentum, and they know it.

"They've stayed full-time and kept their core together," Gray said of the Highland club. "It wouldn't surprise me if they found themselves back in the Premiership again with the infrastructure, players and management team they've got.

"They've started the season really well, they're used to winning games and they'll be playing with confidence. That adds to the challenge we've got."

So the stage is set. A manager under pressure, a support restless, a cup tie that feels bigger than the bracket suggests. For Gray, this is not just about a place in the semi-finals. It is about proving that his Hibs can still turn a season, and a narrative, on its head in 90 minutes.