The former Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and Norwich City stopper joined Hibs with the World Cup in mind.
David Gray believes it’s clear to see why Scotland head coach Steve Clarke regularly turns to Hibs defender Grant Hanley on the international scene.
The centre-back signed for the Premiership club last summer after extensive experience in England with Newcastle United, Blackburn Rovers, Norwich City and Birmingham City. Despite minutes diminishing in his most recent years in England, Clarke has continued to select Hanley for his national team squads, and is in the group that will head to America, Canada and Mexico for World Cup action next month.
Hanley has appeared an impressive 66 times for Scotland, and will be keen to start for the country in its first World Cup since 1998, having already pulled on the navy blue on the European Championship stage. He has 26 Hibs appearances under his belt to help him in that bid and Gray was left certain the Scotland star would be a fine fit for his plans on the domestic scene. Conversations around Hanley last year proved to him why he has enjoyed a lengthy career in England with big clubs and why Clarke calls upon him regardless of how much he is playing at club level.
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Why did Hibs sign Grant Hanley?
“Loads of things,” Gray said when asked about the qualities of Hanley’s that stood out him after starting to work with him. “You don't play at the level he's played at, have as many caps as he has, without being a top player, a top professional. He's had injuries in his career as well, but always played to a very high level. Which tells you he’s been a consistent performer.
“And then you see that, even though there were times when he was maybe not been playing as much club football before he signed here, he was still very much involved in the international scene. That tells you what sort of a trusted type of person he is, the fact that Steve Clarke still wanted him so involved with the Scotland team. And then you obviously do your character references as well, when you speak to people who worked with him. And anybody who you spoke to, they all said the same thing.
“They said he was a top professional, top character in the dressing room, and a top player. He's had a fantastic career for a reason.“
How did Hibs sell Grant Hanley on transfer?
When joining the club last summer following the end of his time at Birmingham City, the World Cup was used as a sales pitch by Gray, as he felt good performances were needed each week from Hanley to guarantee a spot on the plane. There have been some injuries and suspensions but the Hibs boss has been happy with the availability of the 34-year-old. He has also worked as a role model for younger players to learn from.
“When it came to having the conversations with him about coming to the club, I obviously talked about the World Cup potentially – at that point – coming up in the summer,” explained Gray of selling the defender on Hibs. “I told him: ‘You need to be playing well. If you’re playing well for Hibs every week and we’re doing well, you can keep yourself in that international scene.’
“Although he’s had a couple of injuries and suspensions, he’s done really well with that. He’s just a reliable, trustworthy centre-half. Like I say, he’s played at a high level for a reason. But not just that, there is what he brings to the group every single day. His knowledge, his experience. And the fact that he’s a proper role model for younger players, because he just does everything properly every day.”
Meanwhile, to prepare for Scotland’s opening two games against Haiti and Morocco in Boston before a Miami glamour clash with Brazil, Hanley has made five visits to Edinburgh Napier University’s Environmental Performance Laboratory at their Sighthill campus. Temperatures for Scotland’s opening two games at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough are expected to be around 25°C with humidity levels in the 70% range. 32°C temperatures and humidity in excess of 80% will greet them when facing Brazil and Napier’s state of the art facilities have helped the Hibs defender get ready for difficult playing conditions.
“The Men’s Scottish National Team have qualified for a World Cup for the first time since 1998, and will be competing in group games against Haiti, Morocco and Brazil in the United States next month, Napier explained on social media. “Their first two games against Haiti and Morocco will take place in Boston with predicted temperatures and humidity of up to 25°C and 67%, before heading to Miami to face Brazil in temperatures and humidity of up to 32°C and >80%. To compete in these extreme conditions, it is essential that the players prepare adequately, and here at Edinburgh Napier we have been helping Grant Hanley do just that.
“Grant attended the Environmental Performance Laboratory on five occasions over the last few weeks, giving his body the best chance at acclimatising to the conditions he will face during the World Cup. These sessions included: Exercising at up to 32°C and 82% humidity, undertaking both steady state and high intensity interval sessions, constant heart rate monitoring and core temperature monitoring Grant made great progress during the sessions and was coping better with the conditions both physiologically and psychologically at the end of the programme,”
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