Hibernian's Crucial Cup Clash Against Ross County

David Gray walks into Dingwall this weekend knowing exactly what is at stake.

Hibernian’s head coach takes his side to Ross County in the Premier Sports Cup on Saturday, and for former Easter Road favourite Scott Allan, the significance is crystal clear.

“It’s a huge game,” Allan said on the BBC Scotland Football Podcast. “There’s no other way to look at it from a Hibs perspective.”

Hibs are chasing a semi-final spot, but they arrive with bruises. Back-to-back Premiership defeats to Hearts and St Johnstone have stalled their league momentum, and a late collapse against Gent at Easter Road slammed the door on the Conference League.

That has sharpened the focus on the domestic cups.

“There’s a lot riding on the cups, with Hibs having been disappointing in the last two years,” added Allan, who had three separate spells with the club and knows the expectations that cling to that green shirt.

The problem for Gray is that Ross County are in no mood to play the underdog.

County are unbeaten in League One and carry a real threat in 38-year-old Brian Graham, the former Hibs striker who has already hit nine goals in all competitions. A familiar face, but now a very present danger.

“It will be difficult against a team that is winning games, with a striker that is scoring goals,” Allan warned. “They have a strong squad for a club in League One.”

That’s the backdrop: a top-flight side under pressure, heading to face a lower-league team full of confidence, led by a veteran forward enjoying a hot streak.

Allan still leans towards his old club.

“I think it could be tricky, but I still believe Hibs will have enough to get through the tie,” he said.

His belief rests on the talent he knows is there.

“There is some real quality in the team. Whether they are getting the best out of them at the moment is another question.”

That question now hangs over Gray in the Highlands, with a cup run and a measure of early-season authority on the line.