David Gray takes positives from Kieron Bowie’s debut despite Hibernian defeat

Hibernian head coach David Gray took positives from Kieron Bowie’s debut after an otherwise-disappointing afternoon.

Substitute Bowie produced Hibernian’s only threatening moment when his shot grazed the crossbar from a tight angle late in a 2-0 Easter Road defeat by Celtic, which left Gray’s side and Kilmarnock as the only two William Hill Premiership teams without a point.

Hibs could have been further behind but for some wasteful finishing from the champions but Gray is confident matters will improve.

Bowie arrived from Fulham in the same week that Mykola Kuharevich, Junior Hoilett and Nicky Cadden signed, while the latter’s twin brother, Chris, came off the bench against Celtic after recovering from a recent injury.

Despite a poor first-half performance – following a 3-0 defeat by St Mirren and a Premier Sports Cup loss to Kelty Hearts – Gray believes better times are ahead.

Gray, whose side face Celtic in the cup next Sunday, said: “I don’t think I would use the word ‘worried’. It is only two league games. There’s a bit of short-term pain at the moment for what I believe will be long-term gain.

“If you look over the past week, from where the squad was to where it is now, we do have competition for places. It’s not where it needs to be yet.

“We’ve got players to come back from injury, we’ve got players to join the group. And while the window is open, we’ll be trying to improve the squad.

“I do believe we’ll get there. I’m confident in that.

“But we got extra minutes into boys. Kieron Bowie coming off the bench, he showed what he can do, so he’ll be an asset for us.

“The attributes he’s got, that’s why we brought him here. He has that pace and power. He enjoys the physical side – and that’s important to play here.

“Myko showed glimpses in the first half, although he’s not fully flying yet, either. So we now have strength in depth, once we get everyone up to speed. Chris Cadden got minutes too.

“Kieron has come on and affected the game in a positive way. That will continue as he gets fitter.

“Next weekend we need to improve on the areas where we’ve let ourselves down. We need to be brave enough to deal with how Celtic press you.”