They came through gritted teeth but Barry Ferguson’s words spoke loud and clear: “Hibs deserved to win - they tackled harder, ran harder and wanted it more.”
Saturday’s victory at Ibrox said it all about a Hibees side that now embodies everything their manager was as a player. David Gray will always be a legend in Leith due to his 2016 Scottish Cup Final winner against Rangers. But the job he is now doing as a manager topped off with Saturday’s win in Glasgow? It’s fairytale stuff - not that he’d welcome that description!
It’s not just the 16 game unbeaten run which has taken the club from bottom of the pile to pole position for third place. If you look deeper into the job that’s being done then Gray and his coaching team have improved players right across the board and turned Hibs into a winning machine.
Jordan Smith, Chris Cadden, Rocky Bushiri, Nectar Triantis, Dylan Levitt and Nathan Moriah-Welsh are just some of the players I reckon have stepped up a level in the past four or five months. At the top end Martin Boyle has rediscovered the spark that made him one of the best forwards in Scotland a few years ago.
That’s what head coaches are employed for - to improve players, get the best out of them and make the team better. Everyone looks like they know their job.
But if curing the problems on the park has been impressive then mending the fractures that existed in the stands has perhaps been even more remarkable. Think back to the St Mirren defeat in November that made it one win from the first 13 league games.
Hibs were broken. Everybody was getting it that day - Malky Mackay, the board, the owners, even David was getting it to an extent. I feared his time was up after just three or four months.
The fans let rip and it was toxic. It was understandable too because it’s been a really tough few years for the Hibs support. I kept saying in this column over the last three years there was apathy growing in the stands which is actually worse than anger.
But that day it all just came to a head. Thankfully the owners and the board kept theirs. And they’ve been repaid big time. Now it’s a wonderful time to be a Hibs supporter. Sixteen games unbeaten, one defeat in 19 which is half a league campaign, sitting third and 11 points ahead of Hearts who possibly might not even make the top six. Absolutely nobody would have seen this coming after 14 games.
Saturday was as comfortable a victory as you'll see at Ibrox. I know Rangers are not in great form but Hibs were in control of the game for long spells. They looked a well-drilled, organised team. That's something that's clearly been coached on the training ground, the 3-5-2 and when they’ve not got the ball, it's 5-3-2.
It's really, really good to watch. They're hard to break down, defend well and look dangerous on the counter-attack. It was the perfect away performance. As I said it reflects the manager. When you look at how he was as a player - super fit, combative, not shy in going in where it hurts and popping ups with big goals at the other end - there's so many of his characteristics in this team.
A lot of coaches overcomplicate things. Previous Hibs managers like Sean Maloney and Nick Montgomery did. But it's Scottish football, not La Liga. Being organised, hard to break down, winning second balls and having pace at the top end of the park are some of the main ingredients for success. Hibs have got a perfect recipe now.
I was actually expecting them to get a result at Ibrox, that’s how far they’ve come. I knew if Hibs got that first goal Rangers fans would be right on top of the players and they can't handle it. It’s been proven for the past 10-12 years. The only year they won the league there was no fans.
From the moment that first goal went in there was only going to be one winner and Boyle’s second goal was a fair reflection of the game. We moan about VAR every week but thank God it was there for Boyle's goal because the linesman had a shocker flagging it offside initially.
Hibs have beaten every team in the top six now - Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen, Dundee United and, of course, Hearts home and away. Since the 3-3 draw with Aberdeen on November 26 only Celtic have picked up more points - three more - and even then the Hoops have played two more games in that time.
There’s no complacency though and that comes from the manager being level-headed. He never got too high with the wins or too low when they were going through that bad run, he's been pretty consistent.
And they know they still have a big job to do to finish third. It continues at home to Dundee on Saturday, one of two teams they’ve not beaten this season along with St Mirren. They will be well aware of the dangers, not least former Hibee Simon Murray who is on red hot form right now.
But if Hibs ensure the basics of work rate, organisation and discipline remain where they’ve been then I’m confident the quality that oozes through the side will be enough to secure another massive three points in the race for third.
