Gray eager to maintain Cup momentum with Kelty win
Hibs could welcome livewire attacker Harry McKirdy back for tomorrow’s trip to Kelty, as new gaffer David Gray aims to build on the momentum of their lightning start to his first season at the helm. The Easter Road side are in blistering form as they cross the Forth to face Kelty Hearts, having racked up a 5-0 away win over Elgin last weekend, before battering Queen’s Park 5-1 in Edinburgh on Tuesday night.
Gray, who provided further injury updates on Elie Youan and Chris Cadden, said he was pleased to have McKirdy – now fully recuperated from heart surgery but dealing with more mundane fitness issues since returning from his loan spell with Swindon – back in his plans, the rookie head coach explaining: “Harry is back and has trained the last couple of days. Tuesday night came just too soon for him, but he’s been doing quite a bit of work in the background.
“We’ve been managing his minutes. He comes back into contention for the weekend.
“Harry has bene a real breath of fresh air since coming back in. He was actually back at the tail end of last season because Swindon’s season finished a bit earlier than ours.
“Ever since he’s came back, he’s had the bit between his teeth and trained really, really well. He was a wee bit behind in terms of where we were at physically.
“But he’s a hundred per cent in how he trains – and he just picked up a little bit of a niggle, a bit of tightness in training. So we’re just being a bit of cautious with that one, especially early on at this stage. He’s been working really hard. He’s bright and bubbly, ready to go.”
Cadden limped out of the Elgin game at Borough Briggs, while Youan picked up a knock in a heavy collision with Queen’s Park keeper Calum Ferrie late in the midweek win, Gray saying: “Cadds has a wee tweak so he’s going to be another week or so. We’re not going to take any risks with him.
“He had the scan. It’s one where we don’t need to rush it at the moment, so he should be another week or so.
“And obviously Ellie Youan went off in the last seconds of the game on Tuesday night. That’s another one where we’re just not taking any risks, just assess it over the next few days.
“It was just a collision. A collision with the goalkeeper. It was very brave of the two of them, at that stage of that game, but that’s just football. We won’t be taking any risks with that one.”
Asked if he had any other injury concerns, Gray said: “No, that’s us. There are a few niggles, naturally, just with it being pre-season and getting minutes into legs. We’re managing that situation all the time, taking no unnecessary risks but trying to be competitive.
“Everyone is chomping at the bit right now because we’re playing well. We want to keep that going and keep the momentum going.
“The boys are in a good place at the moment. It feels like a happy camp, and the mood is very positive.
“From day one I’ve said that the response from everyone has been great. We’re scoring goals and not losing many at the other end, so that always helps.
“The new staff coming in have brought in a new energy, new players have hit the ground running. And young players coming in have added something.
“Facing Kelty is very similar to the challenge we faced going up to Elgin. The pressure will all be on us.
“But it’s my job to make sure the players are fully ready for the challenge. It’ll be on the artificial pitch, a tight pitch, and Kelty are going to have a go, that’s for sure.
“We need to guard against that and be ready to do what we’ve done in the last two games, what we’ve done all pre-season. Those are the standards we’ve set.”
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