David Gray: Defeating Rangers would be 'right at the top' of coaching achievements so far

Hibs boss David Gray says a win over Rangers on Saturday would be “right at the top” of his achievements in charge of the Easter Road club.

Gray was named as Premiership manager of the month on Friday, collecting the award for the third time this season, and he has guided the team to third in the Premiership.

He’s enjoyed some big results and thrilling wins along the way but admits taking three points from Ibrox would top the lot.

“Right up there, right at the very top,” he said. “It’s a very difficult place to go, 2018 was the last time we won there in the league, so it is a huge challenge.

“When you come and play for this club, these are the kind of games you are able to test yourself, and these are the games I used to love playing in, on the big stage against the top teams.”

While Hibs travel with a lot of expectation after a sustained run of good form, Barry Ferguson’s Rangers are looking for a morale-boosting victory before they turn their attention to the Europa League quarter-final against Athletic Bilbao. Gray says their fans will want a win and a performance.

“Pressure will be on Rangers as well, with the expectation of a club like that, but we can’t go into the game in any better frame of mind,” he said.

“The players have been there already this season, we had a good performance there the last time, didn’t get the result we were looking for, but we’ve certainly progressed as a team since then.”

The coach has been boosted ahead of the game by the return to training of key man Nicky Cadden and he could be part of the squad that travels to Glasgow.

“Yes, he’s trained this week, which has been great,” Gray said. “When you first see his injury, you always worry for how long it could be, especially when you get towards the end of the season – is he only going to be back for a couple of games if it’s a significant one? – but he’s really recovered quickly.

“He’s got a chance to be involved, we’ll just have to wait and see.”