What David Gray has said on Hibs’ out-of-contract stars and January transfer plans

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Hibs are one of the Scottish Premiership sides with a large number of players coming out of contact.

Hiberian’s growing contract situation sees a total of 17 deals expire at the end of the season and the Easter Road club are expecting another large turnover of players.

Sporting director Malky Mackay alluded to as much earlier earlier this year.

Hibs are expected to do transfer business in January and Not the Old Firm previously revealed the positions that are now a priority for manager David Gray.

But they will then likely be even busier in the summer with a number of outgoings then needing replaced with quality on the way in.

Gray has been looking ahead to what could come next month and then after the season ends.

• READ MORE: Michael Stewart questions ‘extremely nervous’ Hibs star who is part of massive ‘concern’ at club

Gray on Hibs out of contract stars

Included in the long list of out-of-contract Hibs stars are key men Martin Boyle, Chris Cadden and Junior Hoilett along with fellow first-teamers Rocky Bushiri, Lewis Miller and Dwight Gayle, among others.

Gray has no concerns about having a number of his team heading into the final months of their contracts with their futures unresolved.

And he insists professional pride should ensure they continue to do their jobs properly.

The Hibees boss said: “January will come quick enough, we’ve probably got three fixtures before then.

“But naturally the conversations will already have been taking place, and naturally when boys are out of contract there’ll be conversations with other people at different clubs, because that always happens when you’re out of contract.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
6	ST MirrenST Mirren	17	6	3	8	22	28	-6	21
7	DundeeDundee	16	5	4	7	27	29	-2	19
8	KilmarnockKilmarnock	17	4	5	8	18	34	-16	17
9	HibernianHibernian	17	3	6	8	21	29	-8	15
10	Ross CountyRoss County	17	3	6	8	13	33	-20	15
11	ST JohnstoneST Johnstone	17	4	2	11	20	32	-12	14
12	Heart Of MidlothianHeart Of Midlothian	17	3	4	10	18	26	-8	13

“But the full focus is always about trying to get the best group of players together and making sure that everyone’s fully focused on the job at hand at the minute, and that’s probably the way it feels at the moment.

“I think back to myself, I think every time you go on the pitch you’re always being judged, and I think when you’re out of contract, in contract, it shouldn’t really change the way you play or how you prepare.

“And that’s something that I think a lot of players are demonstrating at the moment, players who are maybe out of contract that are still currently playing for the club, fully focusing on being the best they can be. Because there’s no point in dropping your standard or worrying about things that you can’t affect at that moment in time.

“It’s about trying to play at the best level you can, and I’m a massive believer in what’s for you won’t go by you, and I think everything happens for a reason. So I think if you can apply yourself the best you can, it should all work out well in the end for you.”

Gray speaks Hibs’ January transfer plans

Hibs recently brought in Garvan Stewart from sister club Bournemouth as their new head of recruitment.

Gray admits lots of hard work has been going into finding the club players to improve their squad.

He added: “The work doesn’t stop, but it’s certainly beneficial having a recruitment department in place, that can be constantly looking across and trying to strengthen, and I think that’s the key.

“I think the main message is to make sure the club are in a position, that if something can be done to try and improve the group, and make the club better, and it’s able to be done, the club will always try and do it.

“They’ve always been very supportive of that, which you can see in the last window, the amount of players we brought in, which was great.

“I think it’s just about, as I’ve already said, just being as proactive as possible because a week’s a long time in football. Things happen, things change, people get injured, people move on, and it’s like a domino effect right across the board.

“That can be not just at our club, we’ve got players that will attract attention, just purely because of the level of player that’s here. So I think it’s about being proactive as much as you can, and being ready for anything that can happen.”