Head coach David Gray spoke to the media ahead of Hibs' trip to face Celtic in the Premier Sports Cup last 16 on Sunday. Here's everything he had to say...

How much of last Sunday can you put down to Celtic being really good, and how much is stuff you can fix?

“I think Celtic were very good and there's no getting away from that, but there's things that we can do to improve, 100%. The first goal, for example, giving yourself a mountain to climb right away. Losing a goal in the manner we did, three minutes into the game, gives them a massive lift, gives them a foothold in the game and makes it a really difficult afternoon.

"The areas in which we can improve we've already identified, I think I said it straight after the game, sometimes when you speak after the game you then reflect and think, 'Well, did I get that right, was I maybe a wee bit critical there?'  I think, when I look at it back, I still believe we can be miles braver on the ball. We didn't carry enough of a threat and I showed that to the boys, and demonstrated areas in which we can be better.

"And we need to be better, because if we're not better the same result will happen again. We need to improve. As I said, everyone's fully aware of that and we've worked on that this week."

Being braver on the ball, how much can you coach that, and how much comes from within players themselves?

“It's definitely both. You need to feel it. I think that then comes back to the same thing I mentioned earlier with playing Celtic back to back, that the players have now been in that environment. Then when we watch back over the game, individually and as a group, we can demonstrate within situations - 'What's our options? Could you have played in that situation?' I think everybody knows we didn't do that, and that's an area that we know we need to be better because Celtic are very good at keeping the ball off you, which we've seen at the weekend. But at the same time if you keep giving them it back it becomes a long afternoon, so we need to be braver.

"We've demonstrated that against Celtic before, that we can do it, it's just about being brave and making sure you're in the right position to be able to do it. Making the right decisions at the time, that's always the biggest challenge."

Bringing in Kwon, what qualities of his do you like?

“His quality on the ball; I've seen that day one in training as well, he's really comfortable with both feet, handles the ball really well. And his athleticism, his ability to get around the pitch, his size; he's aggressive with the way he presses and he's got really good pedigree, he played at a really good level. So he definitely adds quality to an area that I think we needed to do.  He's good in tight spaces which is the reason why Celtic have probably signed him. And, as I say, I'm delighted to be able to bring him in because he's someone who definitely adds all that to us."

You must feel as though you're getting a baptism of fire, facing Celtic back-to-back?

“Yeah, listen, it's not ideal. It comes back to us in the group stages: if you go and win the group, you get seeded. I'm not shying away from that at all, but I've said it already - to go and win a cup you need to try and beat the best and it's an opportunity to do that in the cup game.

"In terms of the league, it's been a tough start, but you need to play every team at least three or four times a season. so there are no easy games in this league. St Mirren away, first game of the season, and for 45 minutes, I thought we were very good, then the second 45 minutes we were really poor and we lost the game. So we can't go into any game thinking there's a right to win, or any game is easier than any other. In this league, everybody can beat everyone on their day and we need to be at 100% to make sure we can do that."

You were saying that you might have to take a bit of short-term pain for long-term gain,  do you hope that people understand that? 

“One thing I wouldn't want it to be is an excuse, definitely not. At this moment in time, yes; players are getting up to speed, players are only just in the building, there are new fresh ideas, all these things. But there's still a good group of players here that need to step up to the level. There is competition now which will help push people on, I've already seen that on the training pitch and it's about that then coming out in the games. 

"People will talk about how we've got Celtic back to back and how difficult it can be and, of course, it is the biggest test you'll face, going and playing Celtic away from home. But it's something I touched on even before the game at the weekend, that you should enjoy the challenge of going and testing yourself,  then understanding what it felt like at the weekend, where we let ourselves down, and how we can be better."

Speaking of brave, the first thing Kieron Bowie did when he came on was knock over Cameron Carter-Vickers. It's a different kind of brave, but is that kind of gallusness something you'd like to bottle for all the players?

“100%. Kieron really enjoys the physical side, which is a massive part of the game in Scotland. It's why he was very attractive to us with the qualities he's got,  and like you've touched on there, there are very much two different types of bravery. 

"There's the bravery to go and put your foot in - I think you need to always respect your opponent, but you should never fear them. You should go and test yourself against them, and if you're too passive - which we definitely were - it becomes easier for the opposition.

"We definitely need to be more aggressive, we need to be more on the front foot and make sure we put pressure on players rather than standing off too much. And then there's the other side of bravery, when your team-mate is in possession of the ball. 

"If he makes a good decision to take a touch, you need to be brave enough then to get in a position to help him rather than shying away from it. It doesn't just come from the person directly on the ball, it comes from everybody involved to make sure they're helping their team-mates, getting on the ball, and keeping it off Celtic."

How far away are Junior Hoilett and Nicky Cadden from full fitness?

“Junior's further behind just because of his injury, so he's recovering from an injury rather than Nicky, who's just recovering from being unattached. He's done loads of work himself but it's very different to when you actually come in and train with a group. He's gone from doing individual running and things like that to group sessions  - reacting, twisting and turning, and all the situations that you can't really re-enact. 

"I think that's something that I definitely felt as a player when I was coming back from injuries - which seemed like every other week! - that you can do as much running as you want individually, but to actually re-enact the pressures and situations of the game is so different to doing set things. 

"Knowing that you have to run up to a line and turn, for example, compared to someone making you do things in-game. That's the bit that's missing for him at the moment, but as I say he's had another full week's training and he'll definitely come into the plans at the weekend."

With Dylan Vente having gone back to the Netherlands, were you with the club in facilitating that, or did you try to convince him to stay? How does it work?

“He was very frustrated in terms of not taking chances because he's got a high standard of performance in training, he's very good. He's very good in front of goal, and the biggest thing was the fact that the chances he missed in pre-season came from him being in the right areas. 

"I don't believe he got as many opportunities throughout the whole of last season really, so these are all the things coaches look at; how could we try and make him better, how could we get him into these positions, get him the service, get him more touches in the box, try to get the best qualities out of him and the other strikers round about him." 

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Are you considering bringing in someone else? 

“It's definitely something we'd need to look towards, 100%. You need that competition for places. At the same time, though, it's not as straightforward as just going and signing a centre-forward. You've already seen it can be very difficult to bring the right people in. I keep going back to it -  it's about the right type of people we bring in, you just don't go and sign a striker. The person you bring has to be able to affect the group in a positive way, and anyone coming in needs to be at least at [Dylan's] level or else you'd put yourself in a weakened situation."

And managers do say finding a striker is the hardest piece of the jigsaw...

"Yeah, well, obviously they're very high in demand. Scoring goals is a big part of the game. They're hard to find and that's why they get paid more money than most people, nine times out of ten.

"The work's going on all the time; we're constantly looking to try to improve the squad and we'll continue to do that because whilst the window's open you need to be proactive all the time. The situation can change; our ideal situation might not be where things are right now but in a week's time it can look completely different.

"I think we've already demonstrated that in the last ten days with the players we've brought to the club, and we've demonstrated it quite quickly with bringing in the two centre-backs and the goalkeeper earlier in the window. Every team and every club around the country, and in England, are all doing the exact same thing and I'm sure as the window stays open it'll start to move again."