Hibernian caretaker manager David Gray backed Ewan Henderson to be a “top player” after the midfielder netted the only goal of the game in the victory over St Mirren.

The midfielder joined the Easter Road club on loan from Celtic in January ahead of a permanent move in the summer.

Henderson’s second-half strike was his first goal for Hibs and Gray believes the 22 year-old has the potential to become a significant player for the club in the years ahead.

Asked about the composure Henderson demonstrated for his goal, the former defender said: “Absolutely; he’s got that in his locker.

“He’s been fantastic since he came in and his performance last week was really good as well.

“He’s been working really hard in training and if he can keep adding performances like that and goals to his game I think he’s going to be a top player.”

Chris Cadden and James Scott both limped off in the match at the SMISA Stadium but Gray hoped neither would be significant injuries.

He added: “James was just a bit of fatigue, so I’m sure he’ll be absolutely fine.

“He’s not played a lot of football recently, so it’s been great to see him the last two games. He’s done really well and he’s just fatigued a little bit.

“With Chris it’s very early to say; he came off holding his thigh which is never nice but hopefully it’s not too bad and he should be okay.”

St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson admitted next weekend’s game with St Johnstone was going to be a tense encounter as both teams battle to avoid relegation.

The Paisley side have won just one of their nine matches played since Robinson took over.

He said: “One win changes the whole narrative. We haven’t got it yet, we wanted it a lot sooner.

“There’s not many on a good run of form so I think it’s tense for everybody. I take that pressure away from the players and try to let them express themselves and play a bit of football. But we’re under pressure to win football matches, no-one more so than me.”

Asked if his players have the bottle to battle to safety, Robinson added: “Yeah I certainly think we do. I’ve no doubts about that.

“They’re fighting to the death but I’m confident we’ll handle it. We’ve got good characters and there’s no blame game in the changing room.”