Scott Allan insists Hibs’ success must be found in the cups after fine margins cost David Gray his job.

Dutchman Marink Reedijk has arrived as manager to replace the 2016 Scottish Cup-winning legend Gray, who guided Hibs to third and fifth-placed finishes in two full seasons. A painful loss to Gent in Conference League qualifying kickstarted a run of defeats by Hearts, St Johnstone and Kilmarnock in the Premiership that ultimately brought an end to Gray’s 12-year stay in Leith as a player and coach.

Allan, who featured for Hibs over three spells in his career, reckons a sustained cup run could have enhanced his ex-teammate’s tenure. Reedijk inherits Hibs with a Premier Sports Cup semi-final against Hearts on the horizon - and that is a chance to truly put his stamp down.

On what success is for Hibs, Allan stated: “It's cups, it's cups. I think if David had a good cup run in amongst the consistent top-six finishes then I think it's a great spell. I will say though he did come in at a time where Hibs were really needing someone to stabilise the club. He was perfect for that and ultimately he's not going to get the chance to obviously lead Hibs out against Hearts at Hampden. You're looking at that going ‘I wonder if Hibs could do it.’ That's really unfortunate for Dave but he has left the club in a semi-final."

Having covered plenty of Hibs games in a media capacity this season, Allan was not surprised to see Gray sacked, as he could feel tension building whenever he visited Easter Road. Going 2-1 up on Gent in the Conference League play-off second leg at home, before a late collapse sparked a 3-2 loss, is viewed as huge in how events have transpired for Hibs in recent weeks.

Jack Iredale’s red card in losing the Edinburgh derby at home against Hearts also heaped pressure on, before a woeful performance while losing versus Kilmarnock. Allan is in no doubt that Gray had a good stint in the Easter Road dugout but there was little to save him from the inevitable after their 1-0 loss versus Killie. He wonders what could have been though had Hibs managed to see out the game against Gent and make their way to the lucrative Conference League’s league phase.

Allan explained: "It wasn't a surprise in the sense of, you could kind of feel it coming. I've been out covering the games and you could feel a bit of anxiety and frustration with the fans. I think that comes with how the landscape of football is now but David Gray had a good tenure at Hibs, two and a half years, a long time for the way football is now in management.

“I just always felt, especially the Conference League qualifier, minutes away from qualifying, that would have been a huge achievement. I felt on the night, especially in the second half, they were excellent up until they conceded that goal and then you look at the derby. I think the performance in the first half was one where fans got really frustrated with, you see a completely different Hibs in the second half, sending off then changes the game and that's the fine margins that define you being a great manager and a good manager.

“I just felt that David Gray over the course of the two and a half years, the stability was definitely there and he gave everything for the club. He will be held in high regard for all of time because that's how much he means to the Hibs fans. I just felt you could feel that sense of frustration boiling in the stadium over the sort of performances that they were showing and the Kilmarnock game... the Kilmarnock game was as bad as I'd seen them in a long time."

“I genuinely felt that night against Gent when Hibs got the second goal, I thought they were going to get through. I really did. I thought they looked really secure and then corner kick changes the game. Then the decision to then go for the win in the last minute, and I can understand that, getting everybody up, because Hibs do carry a threat from set pieces, counter attack and then you end up losing in a cruel manner, which they probably didn't deserve.

“I think they’ve then been going game to game, might win a game, might lose a game, but the level of performances I think, and David Gray touched on it, just weren’t of the standard I think that the Hibs fans would want, especially at this early in the season. Especially when they're seeing other teams in transition coming in and start the season well, but I think Hearts game and then the manner of performance against Kilmarnock was ultimately a big one for me. “

The former midfielder will have his own chance to bring silverware back to Leith when managing a Hibs legends side at the rebooted Tennent’s Sixes this week. Allan joked of the team at his disposal in Braehead: "I need to use Big Marvin Bartley and Darren McGregor to their strengths. Obviously, if I ask Big Daz to start taking goal kicks from the six-yard box, he might refuse to do it! First and foremost, it's a bit of fun obviously, everybody back together. But once the games kick off, you'll want to win them. I need to see Grant Holt up front as well, into your target man and play off him."

The SPFL Tennent's Sixes takes place at the Braehead Arena on Saturday October 3 and Sunday October 4. Tickets for afternoon and evening sessions are available via spfltennentssixes.co.uk.