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'Living legend' Gray 'massive success' at Hibs, says Newell

Hibernian team captain Joe Newell has voiced strong support for David Gray following the manager's dismissal on Wednesday, which concluded a 12-year association with the Easter Road outfit. Gray was relieved of his duties with the team sitting ninth in the Scottish Premiership standings after six rounds of fixtures, having suffered three consecutive league losses.

Newell, who originally joined the squad in 2019 alongside Gray and was appointed skipper by him, stated that the squad shares the blame for recent struggles while praising the former gaffer for always shielding his roster.

Gray previously etched his name into club folklore by captaining Hibs to a Scottish Cup triumph in 2016, netting a decisive stoppage-time goal against Rangers at Hampden. As head coach, he subsequently steered the Edinburgh club to finishes of third and fifth in the table.

The 33-year-old midfielder maintained that Gray's managerial stint was an enormous achievement and expressed confidence that the incoming boss still has adequate time to achieve positive results during the ongoing campaign.