I disclose first up that I have big soft spot for Hibs and want them to do well.

I also have a huge soft spot for Nick Montgomery, whom I regard as a brilliant coach with a first-class football brain.

Therefore, despite some misgivings about the environment Monty was walking into, I was interested to see how an innovative and highly successful A League manager would go in the SPL, coaching one of the more “challenging” teams – who were already in deep trouble when Monty signed.

Hibs have a history of dysfunction, at least in recent times. They have fans with massive expectations and a budget which is dwarfed by the Glasgow giants. Their main rivals (Heart of Midlothian) are effectively rusted on as the third place presumptive in the SPL which is daein Hibs heids in, the noo. Not least as St Mirren and Dundee are starting to stake a claim.

There was a little bit of excitement about Monty’s appointment but also much suspicion about a coach from the A League (which is pish) and the likelihood that he’d be out of his depth in the SPL.

Sorry. We’re talking about a guy who played over 400 games in the Championship and EPL for Sheffield Utd before going to the Mariners as a very successful player and coach – winning the league first attempt at the club with the lowest budget. I doubt whether there’d be anything going on in the SPL he’d not seen before – especially when it comes to player and agent shenanigans.

Nevertheless, despite the fact that Hibs were already struggling when Monty started, the “out of his depth” narrative deepened on the Hibs forums – reinforced by poor performances as Monty’s reign spiralled into the pits of despair.

That’s where it was supposed to go.

I’m not claiming to have all the inside story – I don’t. But I have some of it.

Hibs are a total basket case – a basket of bad eggs.

Montgomery was brought in to do a job and he did it. It was all about disrupting the bad culture and getting rid of deadwood over a three year period. The players revolted – refused to play for him – and the board crumbled in the face of fan and player fury.

That was Hibs’ chance but the bad eggs won. Maybe Monty could have played a longer, more strategic game but he felt empowered by the board to go all in and root the weeds out ASAP. Then, in the face of bad results and fan entitlement, the board lost its nerve. They sacked the man they’d brought all the way from Australia to do a job no-one in Scotland was capable of doing.

Naturally, I’ve watched on with major interest since then, to see how Hibs would go post-Monty and the signs are not good. There was some pre-season optimism but since then they’ve lost their way in the League Cup. In the league they were beaten easily by a resurgent St Mirren then dismantled by a Celtic team that never bothered getting out of first gear.

The season’s only just started but the problems run very deep at Hibs. They have few players capable of playing at SPL level. I hate saying that because I really want them to do well but, with the bad eggs in charge, the coach, Sir David Gray (as he’s known) is basically putting out training cones and washing the shirts. Genuine radical surgery is needed. 

They had their chance (and they got him really cheaply). They blew it.

Nick Montgomery is a first class football coach. Does anyone think David Gray in his wildest dreams would be hired by Ange Postecoglou? One of the world’s great football motivators and thinkers?

Nick Montgomery is an outstanding football coach and philosopher and having been sacked by Hibs was snapped up by one of the world’s smartest managers at one of the richest clubs in the world.

Hibs could have had him for peanuts.

Their pain will continue.

 

Adrian's books can be purchased at any good bookstore or through ebook alchemy. His first sci-fi novel (Asparagus Grass) was published by Hague Publishing in July 2023. The ebook can be purchased here and the paperback can be ordered here or at your local store.