David Gray urges frustrated fans to stick with struggling Hibs

Hibernian boss David Gray admits the club need their fans more than ever after suffering another dismal defeat.

Gray’s team travelled to Dundee on Saturday night and made a superb start to the game, taking the lead within two minutes through Nicky Cadden.

However, after Jordan Obita was shown a straight red card for a lunging challenge on Mohamed Sylla just 10 minutes later, Hibs fell apart, with Dundee scoring three times before the break before adding a fourth deep in stoppage time.

The result left the capital club rooted to the foot of the Scottish Premiership table with just one league win to their name all season.

The travelling supporters made their anger known to the club’s hierarchy during the defeat, but Gray hopes the supporters will back the players to the hilt when Hibs play Aberdeen at Easter Road on Tuesday night.

The under-pressure 36-year-old said: “The fans always have stuck by us. They’ve travelled in the numbers everywhere we’ve gone and I totally understand the frustration.

“We need them to be right behind us all the time because they’re going to be a massive factor on Tuesday night.

“When we play Aberdeen, we need them to be there, like I’m sure they will be, in supporting the team like they always do.

“The full focus now will be on recovery to get ready to go again.

“The position we find ourselves in, you’ve got no time to feel sorry for yourself because the games are coming quick and fast.”

Hibs have now had a man sent off in four league games this season and Gray admits it is a situation he needs to remedy.

He added: “I don’t think there’s any malice in the tackle at all, but unfortunately we’ve suffered from that before.

“It’s not always directly my fault, so to speak, but it’s definitely my responsibility. So I need to rectify it as quickly as I can.

“You look at the goals we’ve conceded, whether we had 10 or 11 players on the pitch, they’re avoidable in their moments.”

Dundee boss Tony Docherty was full of praise for his side following the win, but he admitted there was concern over experienced defender Clark Robertson, who had to hobble off after just 10 minutes of the game.

The 53-year-old said: “Clark felt his quad. We are assessing it at the moment and fingers crossed we’ve got him off it in time.

“Credit to Ryan Astley for coming on and showing what an able replacement he is.”