Hibernian boss David Gray sees visit of Celtic as perfect chance to bounce back

Hibernian head coach David Gray claims a visit of Celtic is the perfect chance to bounce back from their midweek disappointment.

Hibs had Grant Hanley sent off in a 2-0 defeat by a dominant Motherwell side as they missed the chance to cut the gap on Premiership leaders Hearts to six points.

They now take on a Celtic side fresh from victory over Feyenoord in Rotterdam and eager to earn Martin O’Neill one final victory in charge.

Quoted on his club’s website, Gray said: “We can’t dwell on Tuesday night’s result. Everyone has said their piece, now we look at how we can bounce back. For me, there’s no better game to do that than at home against Celtic.

“It’s a real difficult test, but one that the players should look forward to. They should take confidence from some of the performances we’ve put in against Celtic recently, and it’ll be a big crowd at Easter Road and a brilliant atmosphere that the players should thrive on.”

Hibs held Celtic to a goalless draw at Parkhead earlier this season and beat the champions 2-1 at Easter Road back in February.

Gray said: “Belief is the key word for me. You need to demonstrate the belief that you can go into the game and win.

“When you think back to the 0-0, we weren’t as free-flowing going forward as we have been, but defensively we were very good.

“I certainly think we will carry more of a threat at the weekend. We will give the players the game plan that gives us the best possible chance to win the game.”