Hibs are looking to Marcondes and Maolida for inspiration
◆ Montgomery isn’t ruling out throwing both players in against Rangers tonight, and is hoping they can prove ‘match-winners’
Describing newcomers Myziane Maolida and Emiliano Marcondes as potential match-winners, Hibs manager Nick Montgomery is ready to throw both into the mix against Rangers.
The Easter Road side marked their return from the winter break with a Scottish Cup victory over Forfar at the weekend but will have to step it up when the Ibrox side head to the capital on league business this evening, which is where the recent recruitment work could come in handy. Especially if the on-loan Bournemouth man’s set-piece expertise can be fully utilised.
It was 4-0 in the last head-tohead with the Govan side, earlier this season. But, despite key players being unavailable due to international commitments, Montgomery has been buoyed by the arrival of winger Maolida and attacking midfielder Marcondes, who has already impressed with free-kick accuracy despite the stormy conditions that have battered the club’s East Mains training ground.
And, having previously stated that any January signings would need to be ready to hit the ground running, only administration issues would prevent them being getting match time against Rangers.
“We have to wait for Myziane’s paperwork. And Marcondes only arrived [on Monday] and did his medical. I’m not going to rule both out from starting. They’ll definitely be involved.
“We’vegotalotofgamescoming up so they need time to bed in, get used to the intensity we play at, the formation we play, the style we play. But they’ve both spent a lot of time watching video, and I think they’ve already got a good understanding of what we want. You can see even in a couple of training sessions that they understand. I’m really looking forward to seeing them play.”
The style of play and the manager’s ambitions for the remainder of the season were two reasons the signings got thego-ahead,withfrench-born Comoros international Maolida tapping into the insight of formerfranceage-groupteammate Elie Youan before agreeing his loan switch from Hertha Berlin, and the 28-year-old Marcondes taking time out of his winter training to get a feel for Montgomery and the Leith club over coffee in Dubai.
“He is a player who was mentioned a while ago and of course I was really keen but when it comes to players like that, you don’t think there is any real possibility that you will get them in because of the competition you’re going to face and the constraints we are under financially,” said Montgomery of Marcondes.
“So it was really important that we made the most of that meeting, which came by chance. He was out there training with some big-name players from the Premier League instead of being on a break. That speaks volumes to the sort of person he is and it was an opportunity to go and speak to him and get to know him.
“With him out of contract at the end of the season, he needs to get out and play games so a contact -who works at Bournemouth let me know that he was over in Dubai [while Hibs were also there for warm-weather training] and we arranged a meeting. We got on the front foot and got a taxi through the crazy traffic in Dubai and we sat and had a coffee and talked about life and football. Then we gave him the opportunity to really look into the club and I’m so excited that he chose to come here.
“He is not coming here to mess around, he is coming to get training, get involved with the team and help Hibs and me finish as high in the league as we can. He knows it’s a challenge, he knows we have a really young team and he knows the situation we are in right now with a lot of players away or injured.
“It would have been easy for him to say that it was not the right challenge for him but he really wanted to take on that challenge. That’s a real leader as well. For me, to bring him in isn’t just good for Hibs but for the Scottish league because he is a quality player.”
Someone who schools others in the art of free-kick deliveries, Marcondes brings something different to Hibs.
Montgomery added: “You can see his technique, so you try to utilise that sort of thing. He’s the type of player who is happy to stand outside, even in the lashing rain and take freekicks. Him and Elie Youan and myself were out there taking
For me, to bring him in isn’t just good for Hibs but for the Scottish league Nick Montgomery
free-kicks and doing a bit of shooting [after training]. The rain was lashing down and the wind was blowing sideways. But then it comes to games and he can step up and deliver in those big moments.
“We’ve not scored a goal from a free-kick yet. To be honest, having Martin Boyle away doesn’t help, because he’s especially good on corners, which is a big part of the game.
“To have someone else who can deliver a ball with real venom, that’ll help. Because we’ve got some real height.”
Praising the Dane’s professionalism, Montgomery also believes that having come through play-off matches down south, the player also has the big-game mentality.
“He’s not fazed by anything,” said Montgomery. “He’s had a good career and now he’s 28 years old and should be in his prime for the next three or four years.” Making him a potentially-influential addition for the encounter with Rangers.
“We’ve only lost one game at home, against Hearts in the 94th minute, when I felt we de served something. it was one mistake and a little bit of quality. But those are the moments where you need match winners. The two players I’ve brought in could be potential match winners in those tight games. That’s the plan!”