Head coach David Gray spoke to the media ahead of Hibs' clash with Dundee at Easter Road on Saturday. Here's everything he had to say...

What has been the message to the players since last weekend? Do you try and balance it not being an ideal start against the difficulty of the last two games?

“Yeah, 100 per cent. The benefit of having the day off straight after the game was really important for everyone because of the concentration levels required to play against Celtic. They test you for 90-plus minutes. We definitely felt that in the two games. So the message was to go away, refresh and reset mentally, then everyone comes back in fully focused on the challenge that lies ahead, which is the opportunity to get a positive reaction.”

After Celtic Park, you made it clear there are standards to be met. Does it have to be driven home that guys aren’t guaranteed a place?

“We’ve set standards on the training pitch every single day. That’s something nobody’s shying away from, everyone involved. My frustration straight after the game probably comes from the self-inflicted nature of the goals. That makes it harder to take. The one thing, on reflection, is that Celtic are a very good team and we just made it even harder for ourselves. It’s been a tough start but we’ve made it harder by starting the two games against them as we did, giving ourselves a mountain to climb. But there are positives to take from it, which is what our job is as well – to make sure it’s not all doom and gloom. You need to take the positives from every game if they’re there, and there certainly were improvements from the first game to the second. A lot of teams 2-0 down at Celtic Park after 15 minutes could go right under, but credit to everyone that they didn’t. They stayed well in the game, started the second half well, and then, obviously, what happens in the second half happens. That’s the positives to take from it, and the message when everyone comes back together again on the Tuesday. Yes, we go over the areas we need to improve on but everything quickly changes towards Dundee, and the full focus is on getting a positive result.”

Does what you see day on day give you confidence?

“Yeah, I think the reaction is there. Listen, nobody makes mistakes on purpose and nobody wants to lose games of football. It’s never nice, as a coach or now as the head coach. The feeling’s not great, and you want to make sure you reflect and that it doesn’t happen again, or you reduce it as much as you can. We are going to lose games of football, that’s natural. But it’s about learning and improving to make sure it happens less often.”

What have you made of Dundee so far?

“Tony Docherty's done a fantastic job. They’ve started really well – they’ve scored lots of goals and are a really high-energy team. They force you to defend a lot, and they have a lot of good footballers in the team. We’re well prepared for what we’re going to face. But, also, I know Dundee will be expecting a really tough game from us. We need to start as well as we can. The gameplan is in place to try to get the three points, which is our full focus at the moment.”

How significant is it to have this game at home to try and get the season started?

“All you can do is worry about things in front of you. It’s been a tough start, but at the same time, there are lots of positives. The squad is taking shape, the players are spending more time with me and the staff with the way we want to work. The opportunity this weekend is another chance to put it into practice. I’m delighted with where everyone is physically. I’m really looking forward to the game now.”

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Are Elie Youan or Junior Hoilett close to being involved?

“They’re getting closer every day, progressing very well but this one comes too soon. I’m delighted with their progress, they’re moving well on the grass, and we’re integrating them into the group with low-level stuff. Hopefully, it’ll be days rather than weeks. Everyone else is available, it’s a healthy squad.”

Is there anything close in terms of transfers in or out?

“That’s something we’re always looking to try and do, in terms of, if something’s available to try to strengthen the squad. I’ve said it many times, whilst the window is open and while other things happen as it comes to a close, there’ll be more and more movement all over the place. The domino effect naturally happens, so we need to be ready, if something does become available that we think makes us better, to try and do it if possible. If it’s something out which suits everyone involved then I’m sure there’ll be movement between now and the end of the window.”

Kevin Nisbet has been linked with a return. Is there potential for something to happen?

“Listen, that’s just speculation. Nizzy did brilliantly when he was here. I know him very well. He got his move, which he fully deserved at the time. I’ve not spoken to him since but I was made aware of the speculation during the week about him looking to try to come back to Scotland, but that’s all it is for me.”

You might have seen the SFA review this week about Scotland lagging behind other countries in giving minutes to youngsters, and it’s been said part of it is because managers are afraid to lose their jobs. As a new coach, how do you see it?

“I understand both sides to it. Firstly, especially at Hibs, we’ve always had youngsters in and around the first time and I’ve encouraged that every single day. You see it in practice at the moment with Rudi Molotnikov getting his opportunity early on. Rory Whittaker did really well coming through last season. There is always emphasis on trying to produce your own players, which is we’ve got academies, why there’s so much investment put into it, why this building is as good as it is – it’s all for the future of the club. I’m behind trying to promote youth as much as you possibly can. They also need to be good enough, and ready to go do that. It’s about being as proactive as possible and, if possible, I would always try to promote the youth as much as I can.”