David Gray has addressed the ‘awkward’ situation around Hibs’ upcoming clash with Celtic.
Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts are quietly hoping for their old Edinburgh rivals to do them a favour by taking points off of their closest competitors at Easter Road.
As a result, some Hibs fans are even saying that they’ll be rooting for Celtic. For Gray, however, there remains a small chance of catching Motherwell in the last European spot.
So how do you handle this as a manager? Gray has addressed the situation.
Which result suits Celtic best when Hearts play Rangers?
David Gray: ‘I know the noise’ around Hibs vs Celtic
Gray told Sky Sports: “I understand why you ask the question, because of the title race that’s going on.
“As I say, my full focus is on Hibernian Football Club, this group of players and making sure that we get as many points as we can.
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“My job’s to win as many games as I can and [to] try and develop players.
“So we’ll be approaching this game like we do every other one: with a game plan to try and make sure that we do everything we possibly can to win this game.
“And if results go our way, we could potentially go closer to Motherwell again. And that’s all that matters.
Pushed on the ‘awkwardness’ of the situation for the Edinburgh clubs, he said: “It’s really not awkward for me. It’s really self-explanatory: we’re professional. We do everything we possibly can to win games.
“I understand the noise. You say about growing up in the city, I grew up in the city, I know the noise that goes around it.
“But the first weekend of fixtures post-split showed that results can change very, very quickly. I still believe there’s enough games to go that gives us a chance to try and finish fourth.
“So we need to make sure that we do everything we can between now and then to try and do that — and there will be twists and turns between now and the end of the season, that’s for sure.”
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The ramifications for this weekend’s Scottish Premiership fixtures
The game is one of two Glasgow-versus-Edinburgh clashes in Scotland in matchday 35, with Rangers facing Hearts the day after.
Both matches throw up potential unwanted ramifications.
Some Celtic fans have already said that they want Rangers to win at Tynecastle, as this would mean that a win could take the Hoops level on points with the leaders.
Hibs fans’ fears stem from the fact that a win for them could help their neighbours open up a six-point gap at the top of the table.
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