David Gray has insisted that Hibs' key players will not be distracted by transfer speculation, with interest building in Miguel Chaiwa and Josh Mulligan ahead of a potentially busy end to the transfer window. Celtic have been linked with a move for Chaiwa, while Mulligan is on the radar of English clubs and Serie A side Genoa.
Gray's Focus on Euro Clash
Speaking ahead of the Europa Conference League second leg against Shkendija, Gray said the dressing room's focus is purely on the match. He made clear that any suitors would have to meet the club's valuations.
“I think speaking to players happens every day, anyway. And, whilst that window is open, if players are playing well and with some of what you would deem assets in the squad, you have to be ready for that,” Gray said.
“We're not naive to think that [when] young players are performing well at a very high level, playing on the biggest stage in Europe certainly adds to that. But every single player has got a value and, until that's met or the club decides it's right for everybody involved, the players are fully focused on playing.”
Boyle Fit for Shkendija Showdown
Gray confirmed that Martin Boyle is fit for the crunch after missing last weekend's win over Rangers. Grant Hanley and Nicky Cadden miss out.
On Boyle, Gray said: “It's been an ongoing thing throughout pre-season, to be honest, we've just been managing him. And it's something that we always knew, the quick turnaround, he's been Thursday, Sunday, Thursday, Sunday. By the time we got to the Rangers one, we always knew it was going to be too quick, just because of how it started to feel.”
“So we deloaded him over the weekend, with Thursday in mind obviously. And he's trained again today, he seems to be in a pretty good place again, which is the most important.”
Conditions in Skopje
Gray's team headed straight for the stadium from Skopje Airport. Assessing conditions, he said: “Everything we expected it to be, to be fair, I think the big thing we always prepare for and try to explain to the players is what I expect is the difference between leg one and leg two, and how the game will be played.”
“And that's the minute you come off the plane and you feel the heat, so the difference in temperature. Straight away it will probably lend itself to a slightly different type of game.”
“We've been on the pitch now as well, so there's certainly no excuses, we're ready to go, we're prepared properly and everything we thought it was going to be, it certainly is.”
Lessons from First Leg
Gray has reviewed the first leg and identified areas for improvement. He said: “I think, just on a personal note, there were moments in the game when we certainly needed to be better. We were too open at times on transition, too many unforced errors. I think I spoke about that straight after the game, how many times we gave the ball away.”
“They’ve got very quick players, so making sure we take care of the ball better. Especially the heat as well, we don't want to be chasing in this temperature. So the quality on the ball is something that will need to be better.”
