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David Gray and the Hibs hierarchy must have felt like putting a foot through the TV as Aberdeen ripped £5million out of their hipper. But let’s get one thing clear. That money hasn’t just

gone. It’s still there to be won. And the focus for Hibs has now to be to go out and grab it. Listen, I’m well aware of the knock-on effect which comes from Aberdeen winning the Scottish Cup

and gaining the guaranteed group-state football. Nothing is ever taken for granted in this game and I’m sure no-one at Easter Road was counting the money until the game at Hampden was done.

But it has to have been a kick in the teeth because Celtic were overwhelming favourites. They’d taken Aberdeen apart without a raft of first picks the week before and, when Gray and his

squad secured that third-placed finish, they must have thought it was as close to being in the bag as you can get. Massive credit to the Dons. They have earned it. It’s the least you deserve

for winning a trophy and, let’s not forget, Hibs had cracks at Celtic in both of the cup competitions during the season and couldn’t do what Jimmy Thelin’s team did, so fair play to them.

Nonetheless, the Hibs players would have been devastated. Not only has the guarantee of the group games now gone back on the line, their holidays have been shredded. It’s been a long old

season both physically and mentally for those boys given what they had to go through in the beginning before turning the situation around. I know it’s not the old days when I would go on my

holidays and go mental, but the players could still do with serious down time. The game has changed. Individuals are handed programmes and fitness plans to carry out through the summer

months to ensure they don’t come back into pre-season looking as if they have eaten and drank half the contents of a supermarket, but there would have been a bit of time to switch off. Now

I’m no expert on the UEFA seedings, but what I can work out, Hibs don’t head straight for a Europa League play-offs towards the end of August and instead now start almost a month earlier

going into the second-qualifying round. A month earlier? That’s got to have robbed the boys of some of that real down time and that’s a sore one because it’s going to be straight at it and

hectic when they return. Higher up the chain above the players, it has so many effects on Hibs. Going into this transfer market, they cannot now bank on that money coming into the club,

which means there will have to be a different plan, perhaps, to one that would have hatched if Celtic had won. Gray is going to have to come out with other ideas than maybe he had in his

mind before and there is not much time to do it because the signings will need some bedding-in before they hit the qualifiers. But he has to try and get things moving quickly because, as I

said, this money has not just disappeared into the thin air. Yes it’s a bit further out of reach at the moment, but it’s still on offer and, no matter how hard it is going to be to get

through now with the dangers in the rounds and the prospect of being unseeded at key times for draws, it still has to be the target. I noted last week there was some change around up the

stairs at Easter Road with Ian Gordon confirmed as new chairman and talk about a confirmed candidate being identified for the CEO position and the prospect of an appointment down the line.

Whatever is happening, everyone has to be on the same page here in the coming weeks because this has gone from being an important time into an absolutely critical period. There may have to

be some risk taken. I don’t use that term lightly because I know it’s stupid to put yourself into any trouble and that’s not what I mean. What I mean is maybe go that extra £500 or £1000 a

week on a contract offer to get someone in the door quicker. Plenty of work is needed to be done with the squad. I felt as though a solid 24-man unit of ready-to-players was going to be

needed to cope with the demands of the group stages if they were secured and I realise that you can’t now think along those anymore. But Gray has proven what he can do with the individuals

at his disposal and has earned the right to go and get the ones he wants to give the best possible opportunity to try and navigate these qualifiers as well as keeping the foot on the

domestic pedal. Not having the Premier Sports Cup will help in that regard, but these qualifiers are massive. Scottish teams outside of the Old Firm have found it hard to get through them in

recent times and there’s a reason for that. They are really tough. I’ve been there and not made it. Hand on heart, you have to say Hibs are probably odds-against to make it through. But,

don't forget, Aberdeen were long odds-against to beat Celtic, so it can be done. Thelin’s team ripped away the £5million for now. What a challenge for Gray and his boys to go and claim

it back.