Hibernian Sacks Coach David Gray Amidst Historic Home Struggles
Hibernian have sacked head coach David Gray, cutting short the reign of a modern club icon with the team sitting ninth in the Scottish Premiership.
The decision came in the wake of Tuesday night’s 1-0 defeat at Easter Road to bottom side Kilmarnock – Hibs’ fourth league loss in six games this season and another bruising chapter in a growing crisis at home.
Club legend dismissed as home form hits historic low
The numbers are stark. Stretching back into last season, Hibs have now lost six consecutive league matches at Easter Road, equalling a club record that had stood untouched since 1920. For a support that long saw their former captain as the embodiment of better days, the symbolism is hard to miss.
Gray’s sacking arrives despite some progress in cup competition. Hibs have reached the League Cup semi-finals, but that bright spot has been offset by an early exit from Europe after a Conference League play-off defeat to Gent. The board’s patience finally snapped with the league form collapsing and the table tightening around them.
The 38-year-old was only appointed on a permanent basis in June 2024, signing a three-year deal after four separate spells as interim boss. Five years on from hanging up his boots to focus on coaching, the man who wrote himself into club folklore with the winning goal against Rangers in the 2016 Scottish Cup final – ending a 114-year wait for that trophy – now leaves his post under far darker circumstances.
From stability to slide
Gray’s early work in the dugout offered real optimism. He guided Hibs to a third-place finish in the 2024/25 campaign, then followed that with a fifth-place finish last season. Those returns hinted at stability for a club that had lurched from one managerial change to another.
This season has ripped that notion apart. Hibs sit just two points off the bottom of the Premiership, and the Easter Road hierarchy has decided, once again, that change is unavoidable.
The churn is relentless. Gray becomes the latest casualty in a turbulent period that has seen Hibs now search for a sixth permanent head coach in less than five years. Jack Ross departed in December 2021, Shaun Maloney followed five months later, Lee Johnson exited the year after, Nick Montgomery left in May 2024, and now Gray has been shown the door.
Coach John Potter will step in as interim manager for Saturday’s match against Aberdeen. The club confirmed in a statement that a new permanent head coach “will be announced in due course”.
Gordon: ‘Decision we have not taken lightly’
Hibernian executive chairman Ian Gordon paid tribute to Gray’s impact on and off the pitch while underlining why the board felt they had to act.
“Dave has been an inspirational figure at the club during his time here, and he has been a true friend and fantastic colleague to so many at the football club. On behalf of my family, I would like to personally thank him for everything he has done for us since we joined the club.
“As a person, he constantly set the standard with his attitude, professionalism and general work ethic and he will be sorely missed around the building by all the players and staff.
“On the pitch, he has delivered some incredible moments for our fans, and brought a level of stability and consistency that we haven't reached in recent years.
“Ultimately, this is a decision that we have not taken lightly, but unfortunately, one as a board we had to make due to the recent downturn of results and performances.”
The words underline the tension at the heart of the call: respect for a figure who delivered some of the club’s greatest modern memories, weighed against a slide the board no longer felt he could arrest.
Gray’s final defiance
Gray cut a defiant figure after the Kilmarnock loss, speaking as a man who knew the pressure but still believed he could turn it around. Those would prove to be his last public words as Hibs manager.
“I've been here during difficult times and I've been here during good times and you can't just say it's brilliant when things are going well and then not expect a bit of criticism when things aren't,” he told Sky Sports.
“In terms of asking for patience, the fans are frustrated because we're not achieving what we need to be at this stage and winning enough games consistently, especially at home.
“And I accept that. All I can say is until someone tells me otherwise, I will be doing everything in my power, everything I possibly can as I have done at this football club to turn it around and I believe we can.
“It's a difficult time for everybody, the players, football club, because we've lost again off the back of a good result at the weekend and then failed to back it up again.”
“Someone” has now told him otherwise.
Hibs turn to Potter on an interim basis and begin yet another search for a permanent boss. The squad is fragile, the stands restless, and the league table unforgiving. The next appointment cannot just steady the ship; it has to answer a bigger question that has hung over Easter Road for years: who finally breaks this cycle?
