Vrancken says Gray 'will bounce back and find good job'
· Yahoo Sports
David Gray "will bounce back and find a good job", derby rival Wouter Vrancken has predicted after the Scottish head coach's dismissal by Hibernian on Wednesday.
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The Hearts boss played his part in heaping pressure on the former Hibs captain with a 3-1 win at Easter Road in this month's Edinburgh derby.
But the Belgian expressed sympathy for Gray, who had steered his side to a Premier Sports Cup semi-final against Hearts but whose near two-and-a-half years in charge ended with his side currently ninth in the Scottish Premiership, six places below their city rivals.
"The sympathy I feel is also because, when you're in the job, you know how hard it is, and how difficult the situations can be," Vrancken said.
"I know how hard it is to be in the job. I'm always sad to see a colleague losing his job."
Hibs will likely have a new permanent head coach in time for the meeting at Hampden on Sunday, 1 November.
However, Vrancken's full focus is on recovering from his own side's 2-1 defeat at Falkirk Stadium when they face a Kilmarnock side on Saturday whose 1-0 win at Easter Road was the final straw for Gray.
He says it would be "extra positive" to get back to winning ways just in time for the three-week international break.
"We analysed the game and we showed it to the players, we discussed it with the players, and they are, of course, very self-aware about the things that happened," he added.
"It was not just out of possession we didn't play our best game, but in possession was, I think, the worst game we played.
"We didn't push the opponent in decision-making and defensively then it's easy to defend and that's not how we want to play."