Hibernian head coach David Gray spoke to the Hibs Observer after his side's 1-0 friendly victory over PAOK in Swolgen. Here's what he said...

You must be pleased with the outcome and display?

“I’m very pleased with that performance, particularly seeing a lot of the things we’ve been working on in training, especially without the ball.

“We knew it would be a tough game against a Champions League team but also a really good test and a different challenge for the boys.

“The conditions weren’t conducive to playing the way we wanted to but the most pleasing thing for me was all the things I asked them to do, even in possession, the risks we took at times in the first half, trying to play out, even when conditions didn’t suit it, they did absolutely everything we asked them to do.

“As coaches, that’s all you can ask, that they try it. If they make mistakes, they make mistakes but this is where we can learn from them.

“I was really pleased with the application and the performance overall.”

A different formation, particularly at the back, but the players seemed to cope well with it?

“Definitely, and I keep saying about being flexible and adaptable. Right now I think the players we’ve got suit that.

“They can flip formations and it’s up to us to try to make sure they can do it within a game or, as we demonstrated today, a different way of playing which is definitely required in Scotland given the different opponents you face.

“It was really pleasing that they’ve taken it all on board.”

You made a host of changes in the second half but it didn’t diminish Hibs' performance?

“It’s pre-season, so you need to make sure that everyone’s getting minutes. Some got more today and they’ll get built up, and the ones who didn’t get as much are doing a top-up to make sure they’re all physically at the same point.

“But everything we’re doing is geared towards being prepared for the first competitive game of the season and it was great to get longer minutes into some players.

“You talk about a drop-off but everybody’s coming into the game trying to get the most out of it physically which is definitely what pre-season is all about.

“You want to build up that robustness to prevent injury, you need to make sure you get minutes into the legs. 

“So all in all, I’m happy with all the players who played today and their application, and how they came through the game”

A third clean sheet in a week must be pretty satisfying as well?

“It’s very pleasing. PAOK had a lot of the ball today so it was a different challenge; a lot of concentration was required.

“They had a good chance early on but Josef Bursik made a great save and Jojo Wollacott had a good save in the second half. Apart from that, I think we limited them to very few chances.

“We could have been a little bit more composed and clinical on the break ourselves when we had chances but all in all, delighted with the clean sheet, and also pleased with the win.

“I know it’s pre-season but that’s three wins which is great because you want that to be the standard, you want to win every game you play in - there are no such things as friendlies.”