David Gray is fixing glaring Hibs mistake 3 previous managers made and here's why it's about time - Tam McManus

New boss David Gray was a no-nonsense defender and it was hard for opponents to get past him.

I’m delighted to see he’s gone into the top job and straight away set about trying to make Hibs better at being the same as him. For too long, the team have been too easy to score against and therefore too easy to beat. The ethos of the club is to play attacking football, have a bit of flair and style. David has been around long enough to know that.

But, above everything else, Hibs have to win games. And I’m sorry, at this moment in time that’s most important. The style part can come later. Right now, Hibs have to sort things at the back because the defensive side is a massive thing. I’m going back three managers and three years to when Jack Ross was asking for centre-backs after Rijeka hammered his 4-1 team away.

From then, it hasn’t been right and I am encouraged by the fact David has gone straight in there and looked at defensive-minded players. First thing is first, the backline needs to be sorted out because losing goals has been a problem for Hibs for the last two years. There have not been enough clean sheets and it’s never been convincing in terms of the keeper and the central defenders.

I spoke to Charlie Adam about Marvin Ekpiteta. He said he was a good athlete and a good defender who is quick and powerful. He’s 28 and Warren O’Hora, a 25-year-old, has played a lot of games at MK Dons. You are not signing kids. These boys are a good age and types who have a good pedigree while playing a lot of football at a good level.

The keeper Josef Bursik is the same – plenty of games at Stoke – so you sort that aspect out and then build your team from there. In general, Scottish football breaks down into being hard to beat and