David Gray (footballer, born 1988)

Club career

Early career

Gray began his career in the Heart of Midlothian youth academy. He was selected for the Lothian Schools XI in 2002 while a pupil at Beeslack High School in Penicuik, along with other Hearts youngsters John Armstrong, Jason Thomson and Andrew Driver. Gray progressed through the youth ranks up until the age of 16, when he attracted the interest of Manchester United, and signed for the club for a fee of £50,000 in 2004. Gray was signed by the club as a winger, although Manchester United's coaching staff felt he was better suited as a full-back, and subsequently deployed him in the right-back position for the majority of the club's reserve games during the 2005–06 season. After impressing during his first full season in the reserve side, Gray made his first-team debut for Manchester United during the 2006–07 season, playing the first 77 minutes in the club's 2–1 victory over Crewe Alexandra in the League Cup in October 2006. It ultimately turned out to be Gray's only first-team appearance for the club. Three months after making his first-team debut, in January 2007, he was sent out on loan to Belgian club Royal Antwerp, to gain match experience. However, after just two games he suffered an injury, which ultimately sidelined him for the rest of the season, and he returned to his parent club in May 2007.

In November 2007, Gray was loaned to Crewe Alexandra on a one-month deal to provide cover for the club's injured players. He made one appearance during his brief loan spell, playing 80 minutes in Crewe's 2–0 away defeat to Nottingham Forest. He returned to Manchester United in December that year, and spent the remainder of the 2007–08 season playing for the reserve side. Gray was to enjoy his first spell of first-team football during the 2008–09 campaign, with the player signing for Championship side Plymouth Argyle on loan in January 2009 until the remainder of the season. He made his Plymouth debut in a 3–1 away defeat to Arsenal in the FA Cup two days after signing, and went on to make 15 appearances in all competitions during his loan spell. Gray rejoined Plymouth for a second loan spell in September 2009, featuring regularly once again, making 12 league appearances for the club before returning to Old Trafford in December 2009 at the end of his loan agreement. Although both Plymouth and Manchester United discussed Gray's move to Home Park being made permanent in January 2010, no transfer materialised and the player remained at Manchester United, captaining the reserve side on a number of occasions during the latter stages of the 2009–10 season.

Preston North End

Gray's Manchester United contract expired at the end of the 2009–10 season, and although he was offered a one-year contract extension with the club, he opted to join Preston North End on a two-year contract on 16 July 2010. Gray started the 2010–11 season as a regular in Darren Ferguson's side, making his debut in a 2–0 home loss to Doncaster Rovers on the first day of the campaign. He was ever-present during the first three months of the season, before suffering an injury in November 2010 that ultimately ruled him out of first-team action for three months. He returned to the first-team in a 1–0 away defeat to Hull City on 12 February 2011, although would suffer an even bigger injury setback a month later after breaking his leg in a 1–1 draw against Norwich City at Carrow Road. The injury ruled Gray out for the remainder of the season, as Preston were ultimately relegated to League One. During his first season with the club, he made 25 appearances in all competitions.

Ahead of the 2011–12 season, in June 2011, Gray was given permission by a specialist to begin training, just three months after he broke his leg. As expected, he missed the first month of the new campaign as a result of his delayed start to pre-season training, but eventually made his comeback appearance as a second-half substitute in a 2–1 defeat to Southampton in the League Cup on 21 September 2011. He went on to make 27 appearances for Preston during the season. Gray's contract at Preston expired at the end of the season, and he was released by the club in May 2012.

Stevenage

In June 2012, Gray signed for League One side Stevenage on a free transfer. He made his debut for the club on the opening day of the 2012–13 season, playing the whole match in a 3–1 home win against AFC Wimbledon in the League Cup. Gray played regularly at right-back throughout the season, making 46 appearances in all competitions. He was placed on the transfer list in May 2013.{{cite web

Burton Albion

Gray signed for Burton Albion in January 2014 on a contract until the end of the 2013–14 season. He made 12 appearances in 2013–14 Football League Two for Burton.

Hibernian

Gray signed a two-year contract with Scottish Championship club Hibernian in July 2014. He scored his first ever professional goal on 29 September 2014, in a 3–1 win over Rangers. In total, Gray made 34 appearances and scored three goals for Hibs in the 2014–15 season. Gray was appointed captain at the end of the season, after the departure of Liam Craig, and also extended his contract until 2017. At the end of the season, Gray wrote himself into Hibernian folklore by becoming the captain of the first Hibs side to win the Scottish Cup in 114 years, scoring the stoppage-time winner against Rangers in the 2016 final.

Gray scored in a 3–0 win against Queen of the South on 15 April 2017, on the day when Hibernian clinched the Scottish Championship title, sealing promotion to the Scottish Premiership after a three-year absence. He signed a two-year contract with Hibs in May 2017. Gray suffered an achilles tendon injury during a friendly game against Willem II in January 2018, which meant that he did not make another first-team appearance in the 2017–18 season.

Gray returned to the Hibs first team in July 2018, and he scored five goals during the early part of the 2018–19 season. In April 2019, Hibs and Gray agreed a new contract that was due to run until 2023. Gray played infrequently for Hibs over the next two seasons, after which he retired from playing.

International career

Gray played for the Scotland schoolboys team in 2003 and represented the Scotland under-19 side on two occasions in 2006. In 2008, he was called up to the Scotland under-21 team to play in a friendly against Northern Ireland,{{cite web |title=Stark names new-look U21s squad |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/7722551.stm

Coaching career

Gray retired from playing in June 2021, and became a first-team coach at Hibs. Following the release of Jack Ross from the role of manager, Gray was appointed caretaker manager of Hibs on 9 December 2021. He held this position for three games, including a League Cup final defeat by Celtic, until the appointment of Shaun Maloney on 20 December. He again became caretaker manager in April 2022, August 2023 and May 2024 following the sackings of Maloney, Lee Johnson and Nick Montgomery respectively.

Hibernian manager

Following that fourth stint as caretaker manager, Gray was appointed head coach on a three-year contract in June 2024. Hibs had a bad start to the 2024–25 season and sat bottom of the table in late November, which led to speculation that he could be sacked. Gray changed their tactical formation to a back three system and the team then enjoyed a remarkable upturn in form, which resulted in Gray winning the manager of the month awards for December, February, and March. He signed a new contract with Hibs in April 2025, and in the following month they finished third in the league and qualified for European competition.

Career statistics

!colspan="2"|Total |- !Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals |- |2006–07 |Premier League |0||0||0||0||1||0||0||0||1||0 |- |2007–08 |Premier League |0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0 |- |2008–09 |Premier League |0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0 |- |2009–10 |Premier League |0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0 |- !colspan="2"|Total !0!!0!!0!!0!!1!!0!!0!!0!!1!!0 |- |Royal Antwerp (loan) |2006–07 |Belgian Second Division |1||0||1||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||2||0 |- |Crewe Alexandra (loan) |2007–08 |League One |1||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||1||0 |- |2008–09 |Championship |14||0||1||0||0||0||0||0||15||0 |- |2009–10 |Championship |12||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||12||0 |- !colspan="2"|Total !26!!0!!1!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!27!!0 |- |2010–11 |Championship |22||0||0||0||3||0||colspan="2"|—||25||0 |- |2011–12 |League One |23||0||1||0||1||0||2||0||27||0 |- !colspan="2"|Total !45!!0!!1!!0!!4!!0!!2!!0!!52!!0 |- |2012–13 |League One |42||0||1||0||2||0||1||0||46||0 |- |2013–14 |League One |11||0||0||0||1||0||0||0||12||0 |- !colspan="2"|Total !53!!0!!1!!0!!3!!0!!1!!0!!58!!0 |- |Burton Albion |2013–14 |League Two |12||0||0||0||0||0||2||0||14||0 |- |2014–15 |Scottish Championship |25||2||3||1||3||0||3||0||34||3 |- |2015–16 |Scottish Championship |31||0||6||1||5||1||5||0||47||2 |- |2016–17Soccerbase did not record two appearances made (and a goal scored) by Gray against Brondby IF on 14 July and 21 July 2016. |Scottish Championship |33||2||4||0||1||0||3||1||41||3 |- |2017–18 |Scottish Premiership |7||0||0||0||5||0||colspan="2"|—||12||0 |- |2018–19Soccerbase did not record appearances made by Gray against NSI Runavik on 19 July, Asteras Tripolis on 26 July and 2 August, and Molde on 9 August and 16 August 2018. |Scottish Premiership |24||3||2||0||1||1||5||2||32||6 |- |2019–20 |Scottish Premiership |4||0||1||0||1||0||colspan="2"|—||6||0 |- |2020–21 |Scottish Premiership |2||0||0||0||3||1||colspan=2|—||5||1 |- !colspan="2"|Total !126!!7!!16!!2!!19!!3!!16!!3!!177!!15 |- !colspan="3"|Career total !264!!7!!20!!2!!27!!3!!21!!3!!332!!15 |}

:A. The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals (including those as a substitute) in the Football League Trophy, Scottish Challenge Cup, UEFA Europa League and play-offs.

Managerial record

Honours

Player

;Hibernian

• Scottish Cup: 2015–16
• Scottish Championship: 2016–17

Manager

;Hibernian

• Scottish League Cup: runner-up: 2021–22

Notes

References

References

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4. (7 March 2011). "Hearts: David Gray tells why had to quit Manchester United". The Scotsman.
5. "David Peter Gray".
6. (25 October 2006). "Crewe Alexandra 1–2 Manchester United (AET)".
7. {{Soccerbase season. 45191. 2006
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9. (23 November 2007). "Crewe take United youngster".
10. (24 November 2007). "Nott'm Forest 2–0 Crewe".
11. (1 January 2009). "David arrives". Plymouth Argyle FC.
12. (1 January 2009). "Gray makes Pilgrims move".
13. (1 January 2009). "Plymouth snap up Man Utd defender".
14. (3 January 2009). "Arsenal 3–1 Plymouth".
15. "Games played by David Gray in 2008/2009". Soccerbase.
16. (18 September 2009). "Graychester". Plymouth Argyle FC.
17. (21 September 2009). "Pilgrims raid Red Devils".
18. "Games played by David Gray in 2009/2010". Soccerbase.
19. (20 November 2009). "Plymouth plan Gray talks".
20. "David Gray – Preston Profile". Preston North End FC.
21. (16 July 2010). "Preston swoop for Gray".
22. (16 July 2010). "North End Capture Man Utd Youngster". Preston North End FC.
23. (19 July 2010). "PNE move just right". Lancashire Evening Post.
24. (7 August 2010). "Preston 0–2 Doncaster".
25. "Games played by David Gray in 2010/2011". Soccerbase.
26. (12 February 2011). "Hull 1–0 Preston".
27. (5 March 2011). "Norwich 1–1 Preston".
28. (5 March 2011). "Norwich City 1 Preston North End 1". Lancashire Evening Post.
29. "English League Championship 2010–2011 : Table". Statto.com.
30. (18 June 2011). "Gray making injury progress".
31. (18 June 2011). "PNE full-back given the green light". Lancashire Evening Post.
32. (21 September 2011). "Southampton 2–1 Preston".
33. "Games played by David Gray in 2011/2012". Soccerbase.
34. (10 May 2012). "Summer Change Programme Underway". Preston North End FC.
35. (14 June 2012). "Defender David Gray moves to Stevenage from Preston".
36. (14 August 2012). "Stevenage 3–1 AFC Wimbledon".
37. {{Soccerbase season. 45191. 2012
38. (31 January 2014). "Transfer Deadline Day: Burton sign David Gray & Gary Alexander".
39. (8 July 2014). "Hibernian: Full-back David Gray signs two-year contract".
40. (26 May 2015). "Hibernian exit for Liam Craig, with David Gray new captain".
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43. (9 May 2017). "Five Renew Contracts For Next Season". Hibernian FC.
44. Brown, Anthony. (17 January 2018). "Hibs learn extent of captain David Gray's Achilles injury". Edinburgh Evening News.
45. Palmer, Bryn. (29 September 2018). "St Mirren 0–1 Hibernian".
46. (22 April 2019). "David Gray & Darren McGregor sign new Hibs contracts until 2023".
47. (15 October 2023). "Gray nets the winner in his testimonial".
48. Temple, Alan. (7 March 2015). "David Gray has sights set appearance at Hampden since school with Hibs". Herald & Times Group.
49. (11 November 2008). "Ten rookies named in Scotland under 21 squad". Daily Record.
50. (4 February 2009). "Scots learn U21 group opponents".
51. (1 April 2009). "Scotland U21 5–2 Albania U21". Soccerway.
52. (25 August 2009). "Perry named in Scots U21s squad".
53. (5 September 2009). "Austria U21 1–0 Scotland U21". Soccerway.
54. (10 October 2009). "Scotland U21 1–0 Belarus U21". Soccerway.
55. (28 June 2021). "David Gray: Hibs' Scottish Cup-winning captain retires and becomes coach".
56. "Club Statement: Jack Ross". Hibernian FC.
57. (20 December 2021). "Shaun Maloney appointed Hibernian manager with Gary Caldwell assistant".
58. McLauchlin, Brian. (19 April 2022). "Hibernian: Shaun Maloney sacked as manager after four months".
59. McLauchlin, Brian. (19 May 2022). "Hibernian: Lee Johnson appointed manager on four-year contract".
60. (27 August 2023). "Lee Johnson: Hibs sack manager after 'disappointing start to domestic campaign'".
61. (14 May 2024). "Nick Montgomery: Hibs sack head coach". BBC Sport.
62. McLauchlin, Brian. (6 June 2024). "Hibernian: David Gray appointed head coach on three-year deal".
63. O'Neill, George. (3 April 2025). "Scottish Premiership: The six-goal November epic that changed two sides' seasons".
64. (4 April 2025). "Hibs boss David Gray wins third Scottish Premiership manager of month award".
65. (25 April 2025). "Boss Gray agrees new three-year Hibernian contract".
66. Winton, Richard. (16 May 2025). "Who needs what in Premiership's final-day Europe race?".
67. {{Soccerbase
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69. {{Soccerbase season. 45191. 2007
70. {{Soccerbase season. 45191. 2013
71. {{Soccerbase season. 45191. 2017
72. {{Soccerbase season. 45191. 2018
73. {{Soccerbase season. 45191. 2019
74. {{Soccerbase season. 45191. 2020