David Gray happy Hibernian fans will be at Ibrox after ticket allocation confirmed

David Gray hopes to reward Hibernian’s travelling supporters with a first win at Ibrox in six-and-a-half years after they were belatedly granted tickets for Sunday’s match away to Rangers.

The Easter Road club released a statement last week explaining they had not been given any details about briefs for their supporters as the Light Blues attempted to complete maintenance work on their stadium in time to be allowed to open at full capacity.

It was revealed on Thursday that Rangers have now been given a full safety certificate, with Hibs allocated around 900 tickets for their supporters, who will be hoping to witness a first away win over Gers since John McGinn and Jamie Maclaren scored in a 2-1 victory in February 2018.

“The fans are vital to Scottish football, I think they’re a massive part of why it’s a great spectacle,” said manager Gray. “They all get right behind their teams and I think they should have the opportunity to go and do that.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to go there and hopefully send our fans back along the M8 happy. It’s a difficult game at a difficult venue but it really adds to the atmosphere when they’re there, which is great.”

Hibs pair Joe Newell and Martin Boyle are battling to prove their fitness in time for Sunday’s match after being afflicted by groin and hand issues respectively. However, former Crystal Palace and Newcastle striker Dwight Gayle is set to be in the squad for the first time after joining as a free agent a fortnight ago.

“He missed out on the last squad because he signed the day before and had only really done one training session with us,” said Gray. “But I’ve seen how he’s trained in the last two weeks, how well he’s looked after his body, how professional he is.

“He’d been working extremely hard, training away before he joined us and had some games behind closed doors, so he’s in a good place at the moment. He really adds quality and experience to the group.”