Hibernian

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Josh Mulligan is set to end a four-month absence from the Hibs squad in Wednesday night's crucial game at Rangers.

The key midfielder has been out with ankle injury since the Scottish Cup defeat at Dunfermline in January.

Mulligan, 23, has been back in training since last month and is ready for the squad after not being risked on Falkirk's artificial pitch last weekend.

"He's never done any rehab on that surface and we didn't know how it would react, so given that he hadn't played any minutes at all and had been out for a long time, we didn't feel it was a risk we could take," head coach David Gray told Hibs TV.

"As a result of that, he's had more training over the weekend, and he's fully fit and available if selected and falls into contention for the squad tomorrow night with it being on a grass surface.

"What that does as well is give everybody a lift. I've seen that in the last 10 days. We've got competition for places and he certainly adds freshness as well."

Hibs have the chance to seal fifth place – which will be enough to earn a Conference League qualifier if Celtic beat Dunfermline in the Scottish Cup final – while they will also be eyeing a victory to potentially move within striking distance of fourth-placed Motherwell prior to their final-day home match with the Steelmen.

Matty Fairnie
Fan writer

The three points picked up from Falkirk on Saturday could yet prove to be huge for Hibs' season.

We have to hope Celtic can win at Fir Park on Wednesday night and that Hibs find a way to beat Rangers at Ibrox to set up a shootout for fourth on Saturday.

My head tells me such a scenario is unlikely. The football gods have been incredibly unkind to Hibs this season, so we're maybe due some good fortune.

I was so happy for Josh Campbell to get his goals at the weekend. He has a real aptitude for timing those runs into the box and popping up with important goals.

Josh has struggled for game-time and I think he sometimes suffers from being asked to play when we need a midfielder to chase down opponents and run all day, but when he's given the opportunity and remit to get in the box, he's a real threat.

With Jamie McGrath still suspended, Campbell has the chance to make sure he's starting against Motherwell if he can back up Saturday's performance with a similar impact against Rangers.

I've no idea how the game at Ibrox will go, Rangers' season is done but they'll want to bow out with a win in their final home match.

Hibs can't be distracted by what's going on there. With a job to do I'm sure David Gray will have the team focused on the task in hand.

Hopefully things go our way and we're in for a thrilling last game of the season on Saturday.

You can find Matty Fairnie at Longbangers podcast, external

Former Aberdeen and Hibernian winger Junior Hoilett would not be surprised to see Martin Boyle join the Dons this summer when the forward's deal at Easter Road expires. (Daily Record), external

Elie Youan appears to be leaving Hibernian after the French forward's barber posted on social media: "Last haircut for @e.youan, four years deep." (Scottish Sun), external

Read the rest of Tuesday's Scottish gossip.

Jonathan Sutherland
Sportscene presenter

Kieran O'Hara - Dundee

A clean sheet and a penalty save as Dundee safeguarded their Premiership status.

Findlay Curtis - Kilmarnock

A star showing from Curtis with two huge goals over fellow relegation rivals St Mirren.

Stephen O'Donnell - Motherwell

What a block to deny Lawrence Shankland. Gave everything for the Motherwell cause.

Kieran Tierney - Celtic

There feels like there is so much more impetus about Celtic ever since the international break. Seasoned campaigners like Tierney have really come to the fore as Celtic make their final charge to defend their title. An assist for Maeda's first goal.

Jordan Obita - Hibernian

On the scoresheet in what was a big away win at the Falkirk Stadium.

Josh Campbell - Hibernian

Two well taken goals on the way to a big result which keeps alive Hibs hopes of catching Motherwell.

Callum McGregor - Celtic

A captain's performance as the Celtic leader marshalled his teammates to great effect throughout a potentially pivotal Old Firm victory.

Cam Congreve - Dundee

Another goal for the consistently excellent Welsh international on loan from Swansea.

Toyosi Olusanya - Aberdeen

Finally, his first goal for Aberdeen. Big moment for the former St Mirren man.

Lawrence Shankland- Hearts

Denied by O'Donnell, but you don't keep the Hearts captain down for long. When the next chance came along there was never any doubt Shankland would find the net. Could be a huge goal.

Daizen Maeda- Celtic

In a decidedly mixed season, Maeda was outstanding in the Old Firm derby. Time seemed to stand still as his stupendous overhead kick looped into the net behind Jack Butland. Maeda never stood still throughout this match, his energy levels saw him chase down Rangers players throughout. Two goals on the day and six goals in four games. Coming to the boil at just the right time.

Hibs fans, we asked for your opinions on the 3-1 win over Falkirk. Here's a taste of what you had to say...

Scott: Too little, too late for me. Most decent teams can turn it on when the pressure is more or less gone. David Gray is not the man to take us to the next level, if he remains expect similar results next season.

Brian: We've left our title push a bit too late, unfortunately!

Martin: Good first-half which nobody saw coming, and fair play to the much-maligned Josh Campbell on a good double. That said, where was this type of concentrated performance when it mattered a few weeks ago against our neighbours?

Kenny: Great result but a little too late for us this season. David Gray has taken the team as far as he can. We might still make the lower reaches of European competition but it's not good enough for us fans.

We are underachieving as a club and we should now look to Hearts and be matching them. We need changes at the club and soon.

Paul: A welcome three points all round. A good performance with a special mention for the forgotten man Josh Campbell. Let's hope we kick on and win our last games. All to often we have let ourselves down this season, but I still hope that European football will come to Easter Road.

William: Great result but an incredibly poor game of football. However, this will surely give Hibs a chance to catch Motherwell if we win are last two games.

Hibernian moved closer to claiming European football for next season with a dominant win at Falkirk, arresting a run of three straight Scottish Premiership losses.

Have your say on the game here.

Read the match report here.

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Hibs head coach David Gray: "Delighted for the players, I know there was a lot of pressure going into the game today, I thought our first half performance was really, really good in terms of real difficult pitch, this surface, a difficult place to come and play.

"But the players carried out that game plan really well in the first half, scored three really good goals and a real professional performance in the second half.

"I think in terms of the last three games, the results and the challenges we faced, they certainly got the rewards today."

"I'm delighted for Josh [Campbell] on a personal level, someone who really cares about the football club, been at the club for a very long time and had to be really patient for game time.

"He'll be frustrated on a personal note for how many minutes he's probably played, but today he's certainly got his rewards for everything he put into it, his energy, his work rate, and he's always a threat in the box.

"It doesn't happen by accident, he does that consistently, and I'm delighted for him that he managed to get his rewards for that today.

"Nothing's achieved yet, absolutely not.

"We've been frustrated in the last three weeks because of not picking up any points, and the effort just went into the three games, but we've done our job today, which is to control what we can.

"Really good away performance at a difficult place, three points at this moment in time

"All we can do is our job between now and the end of the season."

Hibernian wide man Nicky Cadden, 29, hopes not to be "unlucky" to be withdrawn following a red card again this season after the club's recent spate of dismissals. (Edinburgh Evening News - subscription required), external

Saturday's Scottish gossip

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Falkirk welcome back Liam Henderson but Scott Bain (ankle), Louie Marsh and Ethan Williams (both thigh) are out.

Hibernian trio Grant Hanley, Raphael Sallinger and Felix Passlack return from suspension but Jamie McGrath drops out after his red card last weekend. Josh Mulligan (ankle) and Munashe Garananga (hamstring) have a chance of returning but Rudi Molotnikov (ankle) is out.

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Goalkeeper Raphael Sallinger will start for Hibs in the crucial game at Falkirk on Saturday, head coach David Gray has confirmed.

The Austrian returns from a one-game suspension after being sent off in the first half of the 2-1 derby defeat by Hearts for catching the ball outside his penalty box.

Jordan Smith - last season's number one - performed strongly in the remainder of the derby and subsequent 2-1 loss to Celtic but will make way.

Asked if he had a tough decision to make over which keeper to start, Gray said: "Yeah, I do. But I've spoken to both goalkeepers and it'll be Rafa that goes back in this weekend.

"It's not an easy decision because all Smudge can do is wait for his opportunity and do everything he can, and he's certainly done that, but I think over the piece, Rafa has been very consistent this season.

"I've been very open with the two of them and Rafa will start the game."

Defenders Felix Passlack and Grant Hanley also return from suspension, with Hibs' European hopes having been hindered by four red cards in their past three matches.

"It's pretty self-explanatory, I spoke about that even going into the last one, and the results show that as well," said Gray. "Four red cards in three games, three defeats.

"To give yourself the best chance, you need all 11 men on the pitch."

Josh Mulligan has been "training well" after being sidelined since January but Gray did not say whether the key midfielder would return to face a sixth-place Falkirk side just two points behind Hibs.

In addition to trying to fend off the Bairns, Gray's side are still striving to overhaul fourth-place Motherwell, who are six points ahead with three games remaining.

"Everything we set out to do is still possible at this stage," he said. "We are quickly running out of games but there's no bigger game than the biggest game of the season this weekend.

"If we beat Falkirk this weekend it puts us five points ahead of them with two games to go, but, more importantly, three points behind Motherwell before they play their game [against Hearts] that night. We've still to play them and then anything can happen."

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• Hibs have had a player sent off in three consecutive Premiership games, the first side to do so in the competition since St Johnstone in September 2024. On Opta's records (from 2005-06), no side have received a red card in four successive Scottish top-flight matches.

• Hibs have lost their past three league games, last losing four in a row in April 2023 under Lee Johnson.

• Falkirk won for the first time in their past 13 top-flight meetings with Hibernian (D5 L7) when the two sides faced off in January (4-1).

• Hibs have only won two of their past 12 away games at newly-promoted opponents in the Premiership (D5 L5), beating Dundee 2-1 in November 2023 and Dundee United 3-1 in February 2025.

• After drawing five of their first eight home league games of this season (W2 L1), Falkirk haven't drawn any of their last 10 on home soil (W5 L5) since a 0-0 stalemate with Motherwell in December.

Hibernian midfielder Jamie McGrath will be suspended for the next two Scottish Premiership games after his red card against Celtic was officially classed as serious foul play. (Edinburgh Evening News), external

Read Thursday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

The defeat at the weekend against Celtic was another hammer blow for David Gray and his Hibs players.

There is no doubting the effort was there throughout, but for the third game in a row they had to play the majority of the match with a reduced number of players.

Jamie McGrath has been arguably the player of the season for Hibs, but his rashness in the tackle that led to his red card was a costly and ultimately decisive moment in the game.

With just three games left to play, there is now no wriggle room as they attempt to reel in Motherwell in the battle for fourth.

It is, however, very much out of their own hands and will require Hearts to do them a favour when they travel to Fir Park for the late kick-off on Saturday.

Prior to that, Hibs travel to Falkirk, who, under John McGlynn, have had such an exciting and profitable campaign in their first top-flight season for 15 years.

The Hibs players cannot afford to think of the end of the season that is now on the horizon with the Bairns just two points behind.

Gray has been consistent all season in saying they need to show improvement season on season.

In last season's campaign, the Easter Road club ended with 58 points and, although this total can still be beaten, it will take three wins from their final three fixtures for it to be surpassed.

There will be a fairly major overhaul of players come the close of the season, and work is now well under way in rebuilding the squad for the next campaign.

On-loan players will return to their respective clubs, and stalwarts like Martin Boyle will move on to pastures new.

Arguably, the work to ensure there is a competitive squad next season to challenge at the top end may well be more important than what happens between now and the end of the current season.

Republic of Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson has confirmed Hibernian striker Owen Elding intends to play for his team amid continued passport issues. (Edinburgh Evening News), external

Read Wednesday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Matty Fairnie
Fan writer

What a horrible afternoon it was at Easter Road on Sunday.

Plenty of fans stayed away, choosing to do something else rather than watch a game where opinions were split on whether a Hibs win would actually be a good thing.

For the avoidance of doubt, I can't imagine I'll ever see a day when I head to Easter Road hoping for a Hibs loss, and I certainly wanted us to win on Sunday.

Whatever happens with the title will be decided elsewhere, and whoever wins it will deserve it as the best team over the course of the season.

We've had plenty of opportunities to do something meaningful about it and came up short.

Despite what some fans wanted, there was never any doubt that David Gray would set his side up to win the game.

With Motherwell having lost to Falkirk on Saturday, his team had the dual incentive of trying to close the gap on fourth place while maintaining some breathing space above sixth.

For the third successive game, we found ourselves down to 10 men early in the match, and the game was effectively killed as a spectacle at that point.

Gray must make keeping 11 men on the pitch a priority, as the past three defeats have killed our ambitions for the season.

It's not only the points that the red cards have cost us, though. The games have also been murder to watch as a result - 270 minutes of Hibs barely laying a glove on their opponents, including against Hearts and Celtic at Easter Road.

It is unacceptable, and the players must do better for Gray.

It's been a horrible season - one that promised so much but now looks likely to end in the worst possible way.

We now head to Falkirk, where we produced one of the worst performances of the season last time, needing a win to ensure we don't put fifth place at risk. And fifth place is far from a good season as it is.

You can find Matty Fairnie at Longbangers podcast, external

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Hibernian captain Joe Newell says he feared his equaliser against Celtic was going to be ruled out when a VAR check was announced for a potential handball by the midfielder.

The goal was allowed to stand due to insufficient evidence being shown to the VAR, Don Robertson, therefore the on-field decision of a goal stood.

Newell, whose side went on to lose the game 2-1, says the rules regarding the incident are fairly complex for everyone involved.

"To be completely honest, who knows the rules anymore? I don't know. Being completely honest, I thought my arm was by my side for starters," he said.

"I haven't seen any replay, that's the truth. So I don't know. But just from what I remember, I felt like it was kind of between my hip bone and my arm.

"And I don't know if it hit it or not. But I didn't have that elation because I kind of thought, hmm, who knows now.

"And then when it was getting checked and it was an offside check and a handball check, you're kind of thinking, oh, it's not going to go your way. I've not seen any replays or anything.

"So I don't actually know. But yeah, who knows anymore? I don't know. You know the rule. I don't know the rule. Who knows?".

Celtic scored a winner in the second half, but Newell says his team are giving themselves mountains to climb by having players sent off.

Jamie McGrath was the fourth Hibs player to see red in their past three matches.

"There's a lot to be done with 10 men again," he said. "The boys dug in as expected. As I would expect, as everyone kind of expects of that group.

"But we fell short. It's a bit of a killer that comes from a set-piece. You kind of always feel like that can be avoided. So on the whole, I thought we defended really well again.

"I feel like we just were not giving ourselves enough of a chance - nowhere near enough of a chance - to get a foothold in any game."

The official attendance was over 18,000, but there were huge gaps where Hibs season ticket holders decided not to attend.

Some Hibs fans were not concerned about losing on Sunday because the result would not have aided Hearts' chances of winning the title.

Newell says he could sense the atmosphere was not quite what he would expect for such an important game.

"Going out for the warm-up, you can see the crowd. I don't know the exact numbers, but you can see it was a bit lower than usual," he added.

"One thing I would say, I completely get it. I've got plenty of mates who are Hibs fans and they've all been speaking to me. So I completely understand the situation.

"But you play for Hibernian Football Club. This is a massive, massive club - a massive privilege.

"So every time you go out there, you're expected to play for the fans, for the people who turn up, for the club, the manager, yourself and the team. And that's the way it was."

We asked for your views after 10-man Hibernian fell to a narrow Scottish Premiership defeat against title-chasing Celtic.

Here's what some of you had to say:

Ringo: To be honest, I'd never want Hibs to lose a game, but on this occasion I am happy they did. For me, I would never want to help Hearts win the league. To be fair, Hibs never lay down to Celtic and just about stole a draw at the end. It's been a poor season and I don't think we will win another game this season. Let's see if they can prove me wrong though.

Jim: The discipline lately has been diabolical and has cost us points. Fourth place is now gone and we need to get a result against Falkirk to hold on to fifth. The only good thing to come out of this game is that Celtic gained three points on Hearts.

Colin: Shot ourselves in the foot again! But once again, like Hearts, Celtic struggled to break us down. Some great defensive play again. I think we wouldn't have lost to either team if we'd kept 11 players on the park.

Kieron: Yet another game where you felt if we had kept 11 men on the park we'd have got something from it. Kanayo Megwa and Miguel Chaiwa seem to be forming a good partnership as Celtic were struggling to create anything down that side of the pitch, and a lot of that was down to them.

Chris: Another game, another player with no discipline. Our defenders look good and yet we still lose. Our midfield and strikers get no chance because individuals can't control themselves, which then comes down to the coaching and the discipline passed down from the management. If we lose next week, which is becoming a real possibility, then sorry - David Gray out.

Watch Celtic boost their Scottish Premiership title bid by edging out 10-man Hibernian at Easter Road.

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Celtic laboured to take advantage of Hibernian's fourth red card in three games before securing a victory that lifts them level on points with Heart of Midlothian at the top of the Scottish Premiership.

Read the full match report here.

Have your say on the game here.