Hibernian: David Gray tells players to tackle ‘expectations and demands’ key to Scottish Premiership success Football News

Hibernia head coach David Gray firmly believes that adjusting to “expectations and demands” will lead to a strong season for the Easter Road club.

As Hibs kick off their new Scottish Premiership campaign against Motherwell on Sunday, live on Sky Sports, Gray has urged his players to step up to the firm expectations from the fans.

Finished fifth last season to qualify for Europe, and the former Hibs captain wants more of the same.

“Ideally, you want to start the season on the front foot and start very well,” he told Sky Sports News.

“The pressure never goes away as a manager at any club. I think it’s something that will always be there.

“The biggest thing we took away from that run (last season), I would say, was sticking together.

“I can already feel and see it in the training ground. A real collective team with everyone pulling in the same direction, which is your first thing.

“You need the players to buy into it, which I certainly get.

“There are always expectations and demands and that comes with it, so new players have to adapt to that very quickly.

“There is a level of expectation set by the football club, the supporters and ourselves.

“We want to be successful again, like in Europe, at the back. That’s what this club needs to be and we’ll try to do that again this season.

“It can be more difficult because it can require a fourth place finish or you have to try to win a trophy, which is something else we always set every season as well.

“Under my tenure here, it’s something we want to be as successful as possible in terms of a Cup run, but again an opportunity.

“The demand and the expectations and where we think we can set ourselves is when we put everything together with the squad we’ve got, we know we’re a very capable team that can put together a strong run and compete at the top of the league.”

Gray have made five summer signings so far, retaining their key players from last season.

“I’m really happy with where we are from a physical standpoint, the work we’ve done in the window,” he added.

“I think with the window open you always have to look, you always have to be active.

“When you look at one thing I was very grateful for was the support we got so early.

“Ideally, every manager would want it. The first day, all your players as soon as possible. Not always possible, as everyone knows, but the fact is that we managed to do it.

“We’re a bit bloated in some areas, so I fully expect that every player doesn’t want to play every minute of every game, but they should.

“I expect some movement in certain areas there.

“But we’re still always, top to bottom, we look at the squad to see if there’s anything we can do that we believe makes us better and moves the club forward.”