Hibernian boss David Gray reminded of ‘turning point’ against Aberdeen

David Gray is reminded of the turning point in Hibernian’s season as he prepares to face Aberdeen again on Saturday.

The Easter Road side’s wretched start to the campaign saw them sit bottom of the Premiership in November with one win in 14 matches before the Dons visited Leith.

On a night of high drama, Rocky Bushiri’s first goal for Hibs rescued a point in a pulsating contest which had three goals scored in added time before the match ended 3-3.

Since then Hibs have lost only one game in 11 – to leaders Celtic – and beat Aberdeen 3-1 at Pittodrie in moving up to sixth place while, conversely, the off-form Dons have not won in 13 league games and have dropped from second to fourth.

Ahead of the game at Easter Road, Gray spoke about the adversity his side went through and how the last-gasp equaliser meant “more than just a point” for his side.

He said: “We got a draw out of the game but the way the game ended, scoring with the very last kick of the ball – we had been on the receiving end of that so many times up to that point.

“So for it to be the other way around, the lads took a lot of confidence and belief from that.

“We backed it up at the Motherwell game the following game, and then we kept going and we’re in a much stronger position now, and have given ourselves a real good opportunity off the back of that turning point in the season, which is a real positive.

“It also demonstrates this league. There’s a lot of talk about Aberdeen’s run at the moment, but they’re still a very good side.

“They have very good players and put themselves in a fantastic position early in the season.

“They are going through adversity at the moment, but they’re no different from any other team in terms of the level of players they’ve got, the threats they’re going to carry at the weekend.

“And we need to be ready for that, guard against any form of complacency, because we’ve demonstrated that in a positive way, how quickly things can change.”

Gambia midfielder Alasana Manneh signed earlier in the week from Danish side Odense Boldklub on a three-and-a-half-year deal but will not be available.

Gray said: “We are delighted to get that one done.

“He’s not available this weekend. We’re waiting on the admin side to it with visas and international clearance and things which we’re hoping to try and get through today, but regardless of if that does come through, he won’t be available for the weekend.”