Gray leaning on genius of Sir Alex - watch Ayr v Hibs on BBC
Scottish Cup fifth round: Ayr United v Hibernian
When: Friday, 7 February Where: Somerset Park, Ayr Kick-off: 19:45 GMT.
Coverage: Watch on BBC Scotland & BBC Sport website from 19:30, and follow live text commentary online
Not many who watched Dundee's demolition of Hibernian in November would have been confident of David Gray being in charge at Easter Road three months later - and that includes the manager himself.
Gray, who takes his side to face Ayr United in the tie of the Scottish Cup fifth round in front of the Sportscene cameras on Friday night, says he could not have complained if he had been sacked.
Facing former Hibs hero Scott Brown's high-flying side at Somerset Park will be a tricky task, but just making it to this stage in the season looked unlikely just a few weeks ago.
Hibs are however now suddenly very much on the up.
They are fifth in the Scottish Premiership and there is a feel-good factor at the club - a far cry from what seemed like endless speculation swirling over Gray's future.
In those dark early days of his fledgling managerial career, the 36-year-old turned to memories of his playing days with arguably the greatest British manager of all time as his boss.
Gray was scouted by Manchester United as a teenager and that meant his football education began under the greatest teacher Scotland might ever have produced.
He was impressed from the start.
"Day one when I went down, as 16-year-old... yet Sir Alex knew everything about every single player," recalls Gray.
"We maybe had 15 'first years' as part of the intake, but he knew everyone's name and knew everything about them and their families. The attention to detail... I was thinking 'how does he even know who I am?'
"It probably helped I was Scottish. He had a wee soft spot for me."
It was a memorable start to life in the game, but stardom at Old Trafford evaded him as he was sent out on loan several times before being released.
However Gray believes the lessons learned under Sir Alex serve him well to this day.
"I managed to get my debut there, he played me in a League Cup match at Crewe," he adds.
"But the one thing I learned very quickly was the difference between being a player and being a professional player.
"Discipline. That was key. All the top talent was going there, but the ones that kicked on were the ones that worked the hardest. That was something he instilled in us right away.
"I still stand by those principles now. I have taken that into my coaching."
Gray's coaching took a sharp upturn when he was named permanent manager in June after four spells as interim boss.
It was a popular appointment but his status as a Hibs legend (more on that in a moment) did not save him from intense scrutiny as the side bumped along the bottom of the Premiership.
Individual errors and late goals were proving costly on a weekly basis and dark clouds were gathering at Easter Road.
"When I think back to that Dundee game when we lost 4-1 up there, it wasn't good enough. So if the club had decided to change it, I couldn't have any argument with that," Gray admits.
"Whether it was directly my fault or certain things that happened in games - I could have used a number of excuses, red cards, decisions, individual errors - but it's 100% my responsibility. Maybe not directly my fault, but my responsibility.
"There was a lot of individual mistakes at the start of the season but I never lost belief in the players and my job is to make sure I get the best out of them."
Gray says he drew on the lessons learned from Sir Alex during that difficult time and had faith Hibs would turn the corner.
That moment came three days after the nadir at Dundee, as two Hibs goals in added time salvaged an unlikely 3-3 draw against Aberdeen.
Suddenly, everything clicked.
"The consistency in your organisation, your professionalism, and the standards you want to set every day - that shouldn't change regardless of results or performances, and if you can do that, the players can buy into that a lot more," Gray adds.
"If you truly believe in what you are doing and you have got the buy-in from the players you have a chance of turning that around.
"I knew we would pull it around. As long as we could get the confidence up - which could be one moment and happened to be that Aberdeen game - I knew how quickly it could turn on its head.
"That's all credit to the players. I felt the group never split at all and I am very grateful for that."
Gray is also very grateful for his long association with Hibs and describes joining in 2014 as "the greatest decision of my life".
It allowed him to return to Scotland with his young family and led to a moment of glory that will forever be etched in Hibs history.
Gray scored the winner to beat Rangers 3-2 in a pulsating final on 21 May 2016 that ended Hibs' 114-year wait to lift the Scottish Cup.
"It is something that will live with me for the rest of my life," he says.
"I have got three wonderful children that now watch it back on YouTube. It is brilliant to have these memories.
"When the cross came in, I knew I was getting it for the goal. Once I got the contact on it, I knew I'd scored. From that moment on it was sheer adrenaline."
But it would not be Scottish football without a twist.
"The next thing I really remember vividly was getting a yellow card from the referee for running into the crowd," Gray adds.
"To be fair to referee Steven Maclean he actually apologised when he gave me the yellow. I was happy to take that one."
