Tam McManus rates every Hibs next manager candidate as he claims man it SHOULD be is staring them in the face

David Gray's picture is plastered across walls all round Easter Road and Hibs Training Centre. Now it’s beginning to sound like his name could soon be adorning the manager’s door too.

Everything I’m hearing makes me think the man dubbed Sir David by punters for his 2016 Scottish Cup Final heroics is the clear frontrunner to replace Nick Montgomery. And do you know what? He might just be the perfect fit for what the club needs. With the wisdom and experience of sporting director Malky Mackay sitting above him it ticks so many boxes.

Firstly, David would get more leeway with fans because he’s a bona fide legend. There has been a disconnect with supporters for too long now but if anyone can repair that it’s SDG. He knows the club inside out, he knows what the support is looking for in a team, he knows the squad of players and workings of the dressing room.

Some might say he lacks experience but Gray has sat in that hotseat four times now after managers have been bulleted and he’s been directly involved in coaching the first team for three years and even taken charge of a European game.

He has played for the club, scored the most important goal in its history and would command instant respect from the players. From what I hear he is a good motivator as well.

Having Malky to lean on every day would be crucial. He will be a great sounding board for a young boss in terms of recruitment, dealing with agents, contracts, dealing with criticism. Mackay could take a lot of the workload off and allow the new man to concentrate on coaching the team. Honestly, this might be the easiest decision the club has had to make in the last three years.

I was critical of chief executive Ben Kensell a couple of weeks ago and said he’d have to