David Gray set to STAY at Hibs after crunch talks as boss told what must change at Easter Road

Hibs chiefs have tonight backed David Gray amid mounting pressure - but told him results must improve and quickly.

The club legend has found himself under serious pressure after winning just one of the opening 12 league games with the club sitting bottom of the Premiership. Saturday’s defeat at home to St Mirren saw fans demonstrate angrily towards the board. But following talks between club owners the Gordon family and Black Knight FC representatives including Bill Foley, Ryan Caswell and Tim Bezbatchenko a decision has been made to stand by the manager.

Gray replaced sacked Nick Montgomery on a permanent basis in June, having previously spent four spells as caretaker boss. But the 36-year-old has endured a torrid start to the season. Late goals have been a feature of their struggles. But Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to St Mirren saw Gray’s side hit rock bottom with the atmosphere in Easter Road turning nasty and Gray, sporting director Malky Mackay and owner Ian Gordon all in the line of fire for furious fans.

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Majority shareholders the Gordon family spent Monday in discussions with bosses at Black Knight FC who invested heavily in the club earlier this year to discuss a way forward. And they have agreed that is with Gray the helm, for now.

A Hibs statement read: “Following the weekend’s result, we have held discussions as a group addressing how we move forward. We continue to work tirelessly in our quest to improve our performance and achieve the results we need on the pitch.

“Through this challenging time, we support our Head Coach David Gray and his management team. All departments are under pressure to deliver. We recognise that this is a hard time for our supporters, and we know we can do better. Together, with Black Knight Football, we are working hard to make that happen."

Gray has been told results will need to pick up after the international break with a trip to Dens Park to face Dundee first up on Saturday, November 23. After that comes a home meeting with high flying Aberdeen and then a trip to Lanarkshire to face Motherwell.

Gray and Mackay signed 10 new players in the summer but were dealt a blow when striker Kieron Bowie was crocked Scotland U21 duty after making a positive start to life in Leith.

Speaking after Saturday’s defeat Gray insisted he doesn’t fear the sack. He said: “I don’t think worried or scared is the right way I feel about it. I fully understand the noise and rightly so, justifiably so, because of the situation we’re in, where this club is at the moment.

“We’ve talked a lot about it being a new squad and I could come up with 101 excuses, but where we find ourselves isn’t good enough. And I know it’s something I’ve said now for a number of weeks because of where we are.

“One thing I do know is until someone tells me differently, I’m going to try as hard as I can. I will continue to work as hard as I possibly can because no one’s more frustrated than me. I also know what’s in the group and what we can be.

“That [first] 45 minutes was so unlike us, but we delivered that. So we need to bounce back as quickly as we can because the players aren’t going to change between now and January, minimum. So it’s about everybody working as hard as we can and sticking together to make sure we get through this period.

“But the question you’ve asked, I fully understand why you would ask it. The players certainly kept going. They kept trying to do the right things. Obviously, we got the goal and then the little flurry at the end shows that they were willing to go right to the very end.”

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