Head coach David Gray spoke to the media ahead of Hibs' trip to face Dundee United in the Scottish Premiership. Here's everything he had to say...

How's this international break been for you and the players that were here over it? 

"Obviously it was frustrating with the result to deal with that, and then players obviously going all over the world, flying away with their countries and doing what they need to do. But the focus has been on the group that was still here, and working hard to try and work on areas we know we need to improve. In terms of getting bodies back on the grass and working together, it's been a successful two weeks."

And in terms of getting those bodies back on the grass, how are Joe Newell and Martin Boyle looking for this weekend and further ahead? 

"Well, they've trained throughout the whole period, which is great. It's exactly what's required. Joe's got extra minutes by the bounce game, they've got minutes in that. So they'll fall in line with the rest of the squad, which is available for selection if required at the weekend."

Could they both start?

"They are available, they will be in the squad. But the game is 24 hours away and a lot of players have just come back. Some of them had their first training session today with having returned so late from international duty so there are a few variables within that, we need to see how they are, how they settle, how they recover, and make a decision from there."

 What needs to change to start getting more positive results in the pitch?

"If you take the Motherwell game, for example, the basics in both boxes. I think that was the key fundamental thing from that game. We've looked at it and reflected on it and worked on the areas. And ultimately, we don't want to be a team that's playing well and losing games. You need to win. This football club demands it. I'm well aware of that expectation. And that's something we know. The performance level has been good, but if you're not winning games, it's irrelevant. So we need to make sure we put them both together."

Before the next international break you have three home games, all against teams outside the current top three, how pivotal can this period be for him to kick-start your season?

"It can be, but my full focus is on the next game. I know that's all cliche, but it really is. The game's coming up between now and Christmas, it'll come thick and fast but the full focus is on, as I say, working on the areas where we let ourselves down against Motherwell and making sure we don't do that again, trying to guard against it as much as possible because we fully expect a real tough game up at Tanadise. They're playing really well, and are in a good run of form. So we go up there looking forward to the game, but one, fully aware of the fact that we need to go there and try and get three points."

The fans demand performances and results, how are you dealing with the pressure of not being able to get those results so far?

 Well, I think the pressure's always there, even when you're winning games, losing games for this football club. I know the demands that are here all the time. And I think that's, having been a player too, that demand's always on you. I've talked a lot about the squad and how strong it is and the competition for places, but the results are the most important thing. So everybody needs to be pulling in the same direction, working as hard as we can to make sure we put that right as quickly as we can."

We spoke to Lewis Miller who said it's a matter of time until the results start going positively. What does that do for you, knowing that you have the full backing of the players?

 Obviously, it's good to hear. When we go over the games, which we always do, so you have to reflect on all the areas, the good things and the bad. Regardless of the result, you need to look at the performance and see the areas where we need to get better, and still highlight the areas in which we are doing well. So there was a lot of positives from the last game. A lot of areas in which we're doing things right. But as I've already touched on, you can do 90% of it right, but if you're not doing the basics, the fundamentals of the game, you get punished for that. That was what let us down in the last game. So it's all well and good having decent performance levels and the boys believing in what we're doing,  but we need to see it through for 90 plus minutes, no matter how long it takes.

What kind of challenge are you expecting from Dundee United, and what do you make of the job Jim Goodwin has done there?

" He's done a fantastic job. Obviously, it's tough. I've been in the Championship as a player when I was at Hibs and it's a difficult league to get out of. He dealt with that expectation well, managed to get back up and they're starting the season exceptionally well. I fully expect a tough challenge from them. They're always well organised.You've seen that in the games they've played so far, and it's always a tough place to go. We're fully aware of the challenge it faces us.

I know you said that it's one game at a time, but what can three points at Tannadice do going into the Edinburgh derby next weekend?

"I think, regardless of the following game, you need to take three points. That will give everybody confidence, of course it will. As a few of the players you've already said have touched on, there's not been a lot wrong in certain situations and they feel like it's coming. I do see it every single day, the areas in which we are working on improvement coming all the time. But like I've said throughout the whole period here, the levels have been good, but we're not winning games. So we need to make sure we can put it all together. And as I say, that's been a full focus on that and making sure everyone's on the same page with that and a full focus on trying to get that this weekend.

Lewis Miller got his first international goal during the break, what can that do for his development?

"Yeah, especially on the international stage for him because he's been through a bit of a tough time there as well. So it was great for him to see him do that. He'll take loads of confidence from it. He got an assist as well when he was away, playing against a top team in Japan when he was up against it. He's a real good winger, so he had to be on the top of his game for that.

"Hopefully he can come back full of confidence knowing that he's played on that big stage and done well. He needs to then come back here and make sure that he's fit and ready, if called upon, to try and put that right at the weekend as well for us."

As Hibs manager, you'd obviously want your players here all the time, but those experiences - scoring for a first goal for your country in front of a home crowd - must be so unique?

"I think the challenge is raising your game against top players. It's great when you're then coming back and needing to make sure you're on it all the time. You need to be the best you can be all the time. I think that's for all the players that go away. It's a different environment. They're being asked to play in a different way. Sometimes they'll be the underdogs.  Sometimes they'll be firm favourites to win, just depending on the nature of the game. But this is where it really matters. This is where they get paid to play. This is where you represent the club that you're working for. Coming back, my job is to make sure they're all fit and ready, and have recovered quickly enough because it is quite a short turnaround. Even when you see some of the players we've had away, they've been all over the world. So the travel does become a bit of an issue. It's not as if you're just going away to the Scotland national team, for example It does become a bit frustrating from my point of view when you're trying to see who's played where. When do they get back?  All the different challenges that come with it.

Are Jack Iredale and Nicky Cadden back in contention for the weekend?

"Jack, yes, definitely. Unfortunately, Nicky picked up a bit of a niggle on his rehab, so it pushed him back a little bit. He's another 10 days or so, maybe not quite that, another week away, I would say. Which is a frustrating one for him because he was looking really good, getting stronger all the time. So that was a difficult one for him because he was obviously playing and getting himself up to speed. But Jack, he's been training for the last two or three weeks now,  played in the bounce game as well, did really well, so he comes into contention in line with the rest of the boys."

You're getting a run of games now, do you feel the season has been a bit stop-start so far?

"Yes, but it's not an excuse because it's the same for all the managers in the league. I'm sure if you ask them all, they'll probably be frustrated, from a club point of view. There is so many internationals and it's stop-start. But at the same time,for the players to go and represent their countries (8:03) is the greatest achievement for them. So, you'd never want to discourage them to go and do it.

"But selfishly for me, you'd rather have your players here all the time and working with them all the time and playing regularly week in, week out. So it has been a bit stop-start. But as I said, it's not an excuse. We now know the situation we're in and we know what lies ahead of us and what we need to do to fix it."

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How do you find the international breaks as a manager compared to a player?

"Well as a player I never managed to get in the national team, so I was always one of the extras that had to do all the running here! But as a coach, it's different because on the one hand you want your players to go away and represent the country and do really well, and the whole time you're just hoping that nobody picks up any injuries, they come back healthy and ready to go for the games you're playing.  The frustration one is when they go on the other side of the world and maybe don't get any minutes at all, but they're still preparing for games and missing out on maybe a bank of training that they would have got here. But as I've already said, the one thing you would never want, I would never encourage players not to go, I think that's the pinnacle of your career and I understand why everybody wants to go and do it. It is a fine balance between what the ideal scenario would be, having the players here the whole time, of course it would be."

Is the upside - even with players away - that you get extra time on the training pitch?

"Yeah, I think you need to take every opportunity you get with the players on the grass. I think because when you have got games, you can only do a certain amount in training all the time because everything is geared up towards peaking at match day. So when you have got a bit of a break in the fixture list, you can focus on different areas of the game. The other issue is your international players are usually key players at the club at times because that's why they're representing countries all over the world. So they're not always getting the same message as regular as the ones that have already been here. So then it's that balance of what you're trying to work on for the next game  and how long they've been here and can they get up to speed as quick as they can."