Hibernian

Claire Thomson
BBC Sport Scotland

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David Gray says there are "no excuses" as Hibs look to use their rout of Livingston as the launchpad for a spree of wins.

The Easter Road club entered the international break following a late defeat against rivals Hearts - their first league loss of the season - but bounced back by beating Livingston 4-0 to end a six-game winless streak.

Hibs now face Jimmy Thelin's Aberdeen on Sunday, who rose off the bottom of the table last weekend and are eyeing a third straight league victory.

"I got the reaction I wanted. It was almost a complete performance, a clean sheet and four goals at home, so really good," said Hibs boss Gray.

"It's now about building on that. Going into the international break, we used it as a reset so there are no excuses now, we need to move forward and start putting wins on the board.

"It was really good to start with three points at home as we gear up to a tough test on Sunday, but a game to really look forward to.

"It's easy to say once it's happened that I feel a win was coming, but the level of performance has been good.

"We've spoken about the chances we've created but not taken, we've missed out on opportunities and not killed games off.

"It was really pleasing to see them take those chances, it gives the players confidence and belief.

"Aberdeen have developed a really strong squad that are starting to click together as a team so it will be a difficult game.

"We know we're a good side and we'll take the confidence from the weekend to go up there and hopefully come away with three points."

Matty Fairnie
Fan writer

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Hibs delivered what the fans craved - a 90-minute performance.

It was back to winning ways last weekend and with it came a display that sent the support home happy. Livingston will be glad to have left Edinburgh having only conceded four goals.

Thibault Klidje - the club's record signing - led the line superbly, taking advantage of a rare start to show David Gray what he's capable of.

Klidje's goal was a thing of beauty and he terrorised the Livi defence the whole time he was on the pitch.

Gray now has another selection headache. He has swapped out Jordan Smith and Rocky Bushiri, two standouts last season, in favour of Raphael Sallinger and Scotland Hall of Famer Grant Hanley, and now needs to decide whether Martin Boyle stays on the bench to give Klidje a run of games.

It's the sort of problem a manager would want to have and Gray has shown previously he is not afraid to put noses out of joint if it's best for the team.

We'll see with his team selection against Aberdeen what his thoughts are for the forward position.

A change back to the 3-5-2 system that served Hibs so well last season paid off on Saturday and this too should hopefully see Hibs get back on track for the rest of the season. All in all, a cracking weekend for the Hibees.

You can find Matty Fairnie at Longbangers podcast, external

Junior Hoilett urges Hibernian to build on Saturday's win over Livingston by recording a positive result at Aberdeen on Sunday and says "it will take a professional performance". (Edinburgh Evening News - subscription required), external

Read Tuesday's Scottish gossip

Jonathan Sutherland
Sportscene presenter

Hibernian took a first Premiership home win of the season as they hammered Livingston, Junior Hoilett and Thibault Klidje make my team of the week.

Hoilett played twenty minutes and scored two goals - an economy of excellence. He has always been a class act and a pleasure to watch every time Hibs play.

Record signing Klidje was properly impressive against Livingston. A goal and a penalty won by the Togo international in a 4-0 romp. He looked sharp with lots of quality.

There are now plenty of exciting possibilities in the forward areas for head coach David Gray with Klidje, Kieron Bowie and Martin Boyle at his disposal.

Watch the Sportscene panel discuss how Hibs can kick on after their 4-0 win over Livingston at the weekend.

Watch highlights as Hibs ease past Livingston in the Scottish Premiership.

We asked for your thoughts after Hibs' 4-0 win over Livingston.

Here's a taste of what you had to say:

Gordon: Good all round performance resulting in a comprehensive win over a side that has regularly given us problems in the past. Thibault Klidje proving a handful up front and Grant Hanley once again solid at the back. Hopefully we can now kick on from this, again well played Hibs.

Willie: Great to see Hibs getting some reward for great play - 27 goal attempts, 12 on target - a real exciting game, thought Livingston played some good football but were handled well by a defence in which Hanley was excellent. We move on to two hard fixtures but if we approach these games with the same intensity we will be very hard to beat

Francis: Our £1million signing proved he was worth the money, sharp, slick, great turn of speed, all he needs now is a few good finishes in front of goal and the net will bulge with renewed confidence and a lot of goals, well done Klidje.

Aidan: Good confidence booster ahead of difficult upcoming games and nice to be back in the top three in the league table. Still feel that this group is yet to hit the levels which they are capable of, exciting times.

Andrew: A satisfactory result after weeks of sub-par performances. I've been saying it all season that we've been underperforming and even though this is against a weaker opponent our quality is clearly there. Our bench is stronger than in recent years and having players like Miguel Chaiwa and Martin Boyle off the pitch at kick-off exemplifies that. Need to build on this and should start Klidje regularly now. David Gray surely can't use the excuse of trying to settle him into games now. He's clearly ready.

Niall: Much better. Creativity, freedom, goals and a clean sheet. Think Klidje has shown that he has to be seriously considered for the starting role. Need to kick on for a bit of a run of wins now.

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Hibernian head coach David Gray: "Everything I asked for we saw. The big thing was the reaction to losing our first game of the season and we did it in the perfect way.

"Four goals, a clean sheet and we could have had more. The biggest thing I asked for was intensity and I got that from the start.

"The subs came on and made us better, which is the challenge for them. It's a really good day's work.

"It's great for [Thibault Klidje] him on a personal level, getting a goal. His level of performance was excellent, he's a constant threat and looks to run in behind.

"That was part of the game plan today to exploit the space in behind and he certainly did it.

"He's had to be patient, but we've been patient with him. He's come over to a new culture and new way of working and coming into a team that is very competitive as well.

"I'm delighted with his performance and he should be delighted with his performance, but to single anyone out today would be wrong because to a man they were fantastic."

Record signing Thibault Klidje inspired Hibernian to a first home win of the season as they hammered Livingston in the Scottish Premiership.

What did you make of Klidje's display? And how significant a win was that for Hibs?

Share your views.

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Hibernian welcome back Miguel Chaiwa and Elie Youan after injury. Captain Joe Newell is stepping up his fitness after a long-term groin injury but not yet ready for squad involvement. Alasana Manneh (hamstring) is still out.

Livingston are hoping to get Joshua Brenet registered in time to feature while Cristian Montano, Cammy Kerr and Aidan Denholm are all closing in on comebacks. Ryan McGowan is not far behind them.

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Goalkeeper Raphael Sallinger says the international break has been a good chance for Hibs to "calm down" after suffering a late defeat to city rivals Hearts.

Craig Halkett's stoppage time goal at Tynecastle snatched all three points for the hosts who sit two points clear of Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership table.

And while Hibs were desperate to get back to action and right their wrongs quickly, Sallinger admits the break has been a change for David Gray's men to regroup.

"I'm more the type who wants to just play the next game, especially when it was a late goal against Hearts," the 29-year-old said.

"It was disappointing for us, but the two weeks to calm down and get away from football and have your head on other things was good.

"A lot of players weren't here the last two weeks, but we spoke a lot about how we can do better.

"A lot of people were talking about conceding the late goal, and how we can change that but when you look at statistics and everything, especially the last game against Hearts, it was just unlucky.

"We've had good performances, we were unlucky in a lot of games. The Kilmarnock game, we had a really good first half. We want to keep the performance during 90 minutes, and that's the thing, we are going the right way.

"In football it's all about details, and sometimes you just need a successful result. We want to do it, and we can, so the moment can change quickly."

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David Gray emphasised that Hibernian need to "keep moving forward and staying upbeat," as his side prepare to host Livingston at Easter Road on Saturday.

Hibs suffered a late defeat against city rivals Hearts before the international break, and the 37-year-old head coach insists Hibs need to stay in a positive mindset.

"The benefits of the international break was we were able to give a couple of days off, to go and reset, recharge the batteries and get all your frustration and disappointment out," said Gray.

"That was my message right after the game, which was, coming back in, we need to make sure that we're hitting the ground running, not feeling sorry for ourselves, making sure we can move on quickly, and seeing it as a little bit of a reset.

"It was difficult because we've got so many players who go away on international duty, you're left with eight, nine players that are still here, but the training pitch has been good, the atmosphere has been positive.

"We've got an opportunity tomorrow, a difficult game at home, where hopefully we can kick on from here."

Gray insists he is not "concerned" by Hibs' performance levels, acknowledging that his side has been playing well, and he's hopeful they can start converting the chances that they are creating.

"It's a bit of everything. You need your big players and the leaders within the dressing room to naturally do that anyway," added Gray.

"They need to keep doing what they're doing, don't change, keep moving forward, keep staying upbeat, make sure they're around the players so that nobody is feeling sorry for themselves, and that mood quickly changes towards improving, changes towards getting back on the pitch and putting it right.

"One thing I have been demonstrating to the players is, it's not as if we're not creating chances, sometimes it's just about confidence, whatever it looks like.

"I've said it for a while now, that I'd be a lot more concerned had we not been playing particularly well. I don't think the last two performances have been our best. I don't think the game's been great, especially the derby game, it speaks for itself.

"We need to be better in both boxes, in these key areas at key times, but we are doing a lot right, and if we keep getting ourselves into these positions, I do believe it will turn quickly."

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David Gray has been speaking to the media ahead of Hibernian's fixture against Livingston on Saturday.

Here are the key lines from his press conference:

• Gray says the "emotions are very high" after their 1-0 defeat against Hearts before the international break, but says his side needs to "quickly move on."

• The Hibs head coach adds that the squad needs to ensure they keep a positive mindset and "keep moving forward and keep staying upbeat."

• Gray is not "concerned" about their current form - only one league win so far this campaign - and says they have been playing well, adding: "It's not as if we're not creating chances, sometimes it's just about confidence. But we are doing a lot right."

• He's not too focused on the league positions and says it can change quickly: "This league's always the same, it's always really tight."

• Knows it won't be an easy game and says, "Livingston are going to come and make it difficult for us."

• The only player out injured is Alasana Manneh, and adds that Joe Newell is back in training, which is a "positive," and there are only a few "niggles" for players following internationals, but says "we've got a squad that can deal with it."

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• Hibernian are unbeaten in their last 17 top-flight home games against newly promoted opponents (W7 D10) since going down 0-1 to Ross County in December 2012 under Pat Fenlon.

• Livingston have won just one and lost four of their last six league meetings with Hibernian (D1), with that win coming in August 2023 (3-2).

• Hibernian are unbeaten in their last 15 home league games (W9 D6), although their last four have all been drawn. This is the longest run without a home defeat by a non-Old Firm club (Celtic/Rangers) in the Scottish top-flight since Hearts went 16 without a loss from January to October 2004.

• Livingston's Scottish Premiership games this season have seen more goals than any other side (24 – 10 for, 14 against).

• Only Celtic (14.0) have tallied a higher xG in the Scottish Premiership this season than Hibernian (12.2), while Livingston have faced the highest xGA of any side (14.5).

Matty Fairnie
Fan writer

Hibs finally have the chance to get the derby defeat out of their system when Livingston come to Easter Road on Saturday.

It's a great opportunity to get back to winning ways, and we should fancy our chances against David Martindale's side, having enjoyed a comfortable 2-0 win in the Premier Sports Cup earlier in the season.

You can never write Livi off though, and Hibs will have to be a lot better than we were in Gorgie if we're to get the three points.

Thibault Klidje started and scored in the cup fixture and Hibs fans are getting increasingly impatient to see what impact he could have.

I think David Gray is still struggling to find the right mix in his starting XI and many fans would be happy to see Kieron Bowie - who came off the bench during Scotland's recent win over Belarus - paired with Klidje up top.

It was great to see Josh Mulligan get called up to the Scotland squad as well - just reward for a really strong start to the season, and hopefully we'll see more of Mulligan in his midfield role, where I think he has the most potential to shine.

However Gray sets the team up, it's important that we get a result and a performance on Saturday to lift some of the clouds that have been forming over Easter Road.

You can find Matty Fairnie at Longbangers podcast, external

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Rocky Bushiri feels the mental task of switching between club and international football is "underrated".

The defender played the full 90 minutes in DR Congo's 1-0 victory over Togo on Thursday as part of their World Cup qualifiers with the African side currently second in Group B.

The 25-year-old has also featured 12 times for Hibs across all competitions this term and noted the difficulty of going from club to international football, and back again.

"It's good but it's tough," he told The Hibee Buzz podcast, external.

"You're there for a short period with players who play different systems and different ways in their clubs.

"You have to switch after the last game before the break to full Congo mode and then the last days before coming back to Hibs you have to switch again.

"That's maybe an aspect that's a bit underrated. But it's a privilege to be an international."

Scotland head coach Steve Clarke has called up uncapped Hibernian midfielder Josh Mulligan and Rangers' Connor Barron as replacements for the suspended Lewis Ferguson and Ryan Christie for Sunday's World Cup qualifier against Belarus. (Scottish Sun), external

Read Saturday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Martin Boyle is looking forward to representing Hibernian at the World Cup for Australia next summer and the 32-year-old forward is not giving too much thought yet about his contract ending next summer. (JDL Media), external

Read Friday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Martin Boyle joins up with Australia as they face World Cup hosts Canada and USA in friendlies.

Grant Hanley and Kieron Bowie are in the Scotland squad for the World Cup qualifying double-header against Greece and Belarus.

Miguel Chaiwa is part of the Zambia squad to take on Tanzania and Niger in World Cup qualifying.

Thibault Klidje is with Togo as they face Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan in World Cup qualifiers.

Jordan Obita is part of the Uganda squad for World Cup qualifiers against Botswana and Algeria.

Rocky Bushiri joins up with the Democratic Republic of Congo as they face Togo and Sudan in World Cup qualifying.

Matty Fairnie
Fan writer

Derby defeats are never good and there's a lot of frustration around Hibs' approach to the game at Tynecastle.

There's some allowance for playing to the conditions - the effects of Storm Amy were still evident as the teams kicked off - but Hibs' lack of attacking intent and tendency to lump the ball forward rather than playing through Hearts was not pleasant on the eye.

The defeat was our first league loss this season following a string of draws and came about thanks to another late goal, a habit Hibs have failed to kick this season.

It's far from crisis time at Hibs - we're better placed than we were this time last season - but that's a very low bar.

David Gray's team last season was better than the sum of its parts. You could pick a handful of candidates most matches as potential man of the match. The opposite is true this season, at least domestically.

The bar was set high with the European performances, but domestically Hibs have only hit those heights fleetingly and the system adopted by Gray isn't bringing the best out of any one player never mind the team.

We go into the international break now on a bit of a downer before Livingston come to Easter Road.

By then I hope Gray has figured out what's not working and how to fix it, and we can get back to winning ways.

You can find Matty Fairnie at Longbangers podcast, external

Watch all the highlights from Hearts' stoppage-time Edinburgh derby victory against Hibernian at Tynecastle in the Scottish Premiership.