DAVID Gray tonight insisted Hibernian can take confidence from aspects of their display against Celtic even though the 3-0 defeat at Parkhead resulted in them dropping to the bottom of the William Hill Premiership table again.
But Gray, whose team squandered three gilt-edged chances in the opening 45 minutes of the game against the Scottish champions in Glasgow, admitted Hibs have to be more clinical up front to move away from the relegation zone to safety.
And he confessed he will try to lift the spirits of Ukrainian striker Mykola Kukharevych, who failed to net despite being through one-on-one with keeper Kasper Schmiechel twice, before the capital outfit take on Ross County at Easter Road next Saturday.
“I can't remember a Hibs team coming here and creating so many clear-cut chances,” he said. “So much so that their goalkeeper wins Man of the Match. I think that's a reflection on how well the players have done for periods in the game.
“They get one chance early on in the game and it's a goal straight away. But we had numerous clear-cut chances, especially early in the game, and didn’t score. That’s where the frustration comes.
“There's a real disappointment there, which doesn't always happen coming here because it's a real difficult place to come. History tells you that. A Hibs team hasn’t won here since 2010.
“It's always going to be a huge challenge. But I think the players deserve a lot of credit for their effort. I think the disappointment's there because they genuinely thought that the game could have been so much different. We could have come away with a positive result.
“It's probably a reflection on how our season's been so far. We've been the better side in games. But the bit that's lacking is that clinical edge at the end. That's probably been the story of our season.
“But when you see the level of performance throughout the season, it does also give me the belief that we will turn this around. We need to come away from this result, dust ourselves down as quickly as we can, keep that confidence up and take that into Ross County.”
Asked about the injury which forced Kukharevych off in the first half, Gray said, “I've not spoken to him. I think he obviously knows the disappointment. Physically, we'll just have to assess how that is. He obviously felt he's growing within the game.
“But the fact he went back onto the pitch and had a little run around probably tells me that it's not, hopefully, too serious. But at the same time there’s then the mental side to that. I'm sure he's going to be frustrated. He's a goal scorer. That's what his job is. He's a centre-forward.
“So he's missed a few big chances today at big moments in the game. But there's no point feeling sorry for yourself. You just need to get back on the grass as quick as you can and start working on these areas.”`
