David Gray hopes Hibs' pre-season camp in the Netherlands will lay the foundations for a successful season.

The new head coach led his team to the continent on Monday morning for a seven day retreat that will include friendlies against German minnows MSV Duisburg and Greek champions PAOK. Gray worked his squad hard in the week building to Saturday's 5-0 friendly win over Edinburgh City, and there will be more graft to follow on Dutch soil.

But it's not all about running players into the ground. Gray expects the trip will allow new players to gel quickly with their team-mates, as well as allowing him to impart fresh tactical ideas. He will also welcome in the likes of Martin Boyle, Rocky Bushiri and Nathan Moriah-Welsh following spells on international duty, as well as integrating new signings Warren O'Hora and Marvin Ekpiteta. Gray says everything about the camp is designed to prime Hibs for the Premier Sports Cup opener against Elgin City on Saturday, July 13.

“I’m looking forward to working in Holland," said Gray. "The international players will come straight back into training with us but they’ll have to be monitored. It’s been a very tough week for the players starting last Monday. There are two games in Holland, so we can manage the minutes. Everything is geared up to us being the best prepared as we can be for Elgin in two weeks’ time.

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“We want to get a bit of everything out of the trip. You get a benefit of just spending time together as a group, with new players getting to gel quickly. It’s an opportunity for me to get my ideas across, along with the rest of the staff, and really start to work on what we’re going to do moving forward.

“It’s a bit of everything. Gone are the days when you would just run people for running’s sake. There are areas you want to work on. The tactical side will step up over the course of our week in Holland.”

There was, however, another setback for midfielder Jake Doyle-Hayes, as he was ruled out of the trip through illness. The Irishman has not featured competitively since August 2023 amid recurring complications with an ankle injury he sustained in training. Doyle-Hayes played 45 minutes at Meadowbank on Saturday but did not board Monday morning's flight. Neither did Allan Delferriere, also out with illness, nor Ewan Henderson.