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.
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