Newell: Sacked David Gray 'not just a living legend' after Easter Road exit

Hibernian captain Joe Newell said that sacked head coach David Gray can be proud of his record after the manager's 12-year stay at Easter Road ended on Wednesday. Gray left with Hibs on a run of three successive Scottish Premiership defeats and the club ninth in the table after six games.

David Gray made Joe Newell his captain when taking on the manager's post in the summer of 2024, and Newell had been a team-mate of Gray's when he signed in 2019. Newell is a 33-year-old midfielder and was appointed skipper by Gray when the former player became head coach.

As a player, Gray captained Hibernian to Scottish Cup glory in 2016, famously scoring a stoppage-time winner against Rangers in the final at Hampden. As a rookie head coach he led the Edinburgh side to third and fifth-place finishes during his managerial tenure.

Reflecting on the change, Newell said: "It's been a tough week for everyone." He added: "There's an element of blame for all of us. He always took responsibility, always protected his players, which I thought was noble and kind of summed him up as a man."

On the club's memory of Gray, Newell said: "Football moves on quickly, but I think it's important everyone at the club remembers him for what he's done - and I'm sure they will. He's not just a living legend. He'll go down in history."

Gray was sacked by Hibs after six league games, and the side now prepare to face Aberdeen on Saturday, a match Newell framed as an opportunity to respond. "The main thing is the reaction, to try and get back on winning terms with a performance the fans can get behind," he said; Hibs will be hoping to avoid what would be a club record of seven successive home league defeats.

Hibernian are also scheduled to meet city rivals Heart of Midlothian in the Premier Sports Cup semi-finals on 1 November. On the squad's prospects, Newell said: "All we can do as players is buy into whoever is in charge," and added, "There's no crisis in terms of saving the season. It's still early on. We are in a position where we can turn it round quickly. I've said it a few times on record that this squad, and especially over the last 12 months, is the best squad I've been involved in, so I'm massively confident that we can still achieve what we've set out to achieve."