Montgomery and free-falling Hibs lurch into vital month
◆ Some fans have lost faith in the manager but with Boyle returning and injuries clearing up he should be given time to steady the ship
By the closing stages of Hibs’ meek 3-0 defeat by St Mirren, there were no longer boos. All those that remained inside Easter Road – and there weren’t many – could hear was the shouts of the players on the pitch. The majority of the home crowd had long since vacated the premises, fed up of the fare their team are serving up right now.
Hibs are not at crisis point but these are worrying times for the Leith club. They have only taken two points from the last 18 available in the Premiership and aspirations of finishing third now appear delusional. Sitting seventh on 26 points, they are only seven points clear of Ross County in 11th. City rivals Hearts, in third, are 19 points ahead of them. Avoiding getting sucked into a relegation play-off dogfight and securing a placeinthetopsixaresurelythe principal targets.
It should not be this way for Hibs, who after a promising start under manager Nick Montgomery have unravelled quickly. Since prevailing 1-0 away at Livingston on December 9, they have only won one match since across all competitions – and they made mighty hardworkofbeatingfourthtier
Forfar Athletic in the Scottish Cup. A club with the fifth biggest budget in the league and desires of being serial qualifiers for Europe should be doing better.
There are supporters who have already had enough of Montgomery – and their ranks swell after each passing week. What is their basis behind such a view? The recent results have been poor but tactics continue tobequestioned,too.adisciple of 4-4-2 and its variants, Montgomery actually switched to 4-2-3-1 against St Mirren. It broughtnosuccesswhatsoever. The former Central Coast Mariners manager, who replaced Lee Johnson at the end of August, is big on attacking football but it appears to have come atacosttodefending.hibshave shipped 37 goals in the league – only bottom club Livingston are more porous.
The game against St Mirren was the most wretched many have seen from Hibs at home in some time. The Buddies – who were very good, it must be said – could have been 5-0 up at the break and nobody could have complained. “The first half was nowhere near good enough,” lamented Montgomery afterwards. “We got outfought, outran, outcompeted and we gave away sloppy goals. From there, it’s a mountain to climb against a decent team.”
Hibs brought in seven players to bolster their squad this window: centre-halves Nectar Triantis and Owen Bevan, midfielder Nathan Moriah-welsh and Luke Amos plus forwards Emiliano Marcondes, Elizear Mayenda and Myziane Maolida. Defensive cover has been a huge issue for Montgomery since he arrived. He was given a limited hand by previous recruitment drives, with only threecentre-halvesavailableto him in Manchester United loanee Will Fish, the ageing Paul Hanlon and the unpredictable Rocky Bushiri. Triantis and Bevan – both 20 – came in on deadline day and there is still a glaring lack of experience in suchakeypartoftheteam.poor Triantis, who has not played much football at Sunderland this season, had a torrid debut as St Mirren continually picked on him and Fish.
Regular right-back Lewis Miller is away on international duty with Australia and the dependable Chris Cadden only returnedtothesquadafterlongterm injury at the weekend. Miller could be in for the visit of Celticonwednesday.hibsneed him – the backline against the Buddies was a 16-year-old right midfielder in Rory Whittaker, thetwo20-year-oldsinthemiddle and attacking left-back Jordan Obita. Veteran Lewis Stevenson was the only cover. It is lamentable that Hibs did not address such a weakness over the past two transfer windows.
Hibs’ defence is exposed by the rest of the team, though. They don’t have a ball-winning midfielder who can do what many Scottish teams require: earntherighttoplay.dylanlevitt has struggled for form of late and Joe Newell looks exasperated, outnumbered and overwhelmed in the engine room. Once up to speed, Amos and Moriah-welsh could improve things. But the issue on the wings appears harder to solve. Elie Youan and Jair Tavares do not offer adequate cover and are now providing minimal returns in the final third. Both were hooked at half-time on Saturday after a dismal 45-minute performance.
Brighter times await for Hibs
We got outfought, outran, outcompeted and gave away sloppy goals
beyondthisseasononceamerican billionaire Bill Foley’s investment is rubber-stamped at the club’s AGM. The £6 million coming into the coffers will allow Montgomery to upgrade significantly. But while Montgomery is not under significant pressure at board level, he needs to make sure February does not give the hierarchy reason to feel differently.
Wednesday’s match against Celtic appears a tall order but after that, Hibs travel to Inverness in the Scottish Cup, then a trip to fellow league underachievers Aberdeen before a home match against Dundee and then a derby clash with Hearts at Tynecastle on February 28. Failures in that quartet of matches could be defining.
On the positive front, talismanic forward Martin Boyle returnstohibsthisweekaftera monthawaywithaustraliaand a sizeable chunk of the injured players are now back with the first team. Circumstances outwith Montgomery’s control have made winter challenging for him but now there are very few excuses. The 42-year-old, a popular figure in the dressing room, deserves time to navigate the choppy waters amid the clamour from some for change at a club where stability is desperately craved, but he himself will surely know how pivotal the rest of February is.