When miracle worker Montgomery departed five months ago to take on the highly pressurised task of reviving Scottish Premiership giants Hibernian, he left the Mariners geared for continued success, with a raft canny cut price signings replacing an exodus of existing talent.

Anybody who doubted his succession plan need only glance at the A-League ladder with the Mariners serenely sailing along in second spot - only three points off leaders Wellington - and on a run of four straight victories.

Speaking from Edinburgh, where he has steered Hibs through a sticky period when they had four key players away on African Cup of Nations and Asian Cup duty - plus six players out long term - Montgomery is following the same template which transformed Central Coast from misfits to marvels during his tenure as Academy chief turned head coach.

Seven points from their last three games - and a looming Scottish Cup quarter final date with Rangers - have lifted the gloom on the green and white side of the Scottish capital.

But it’s a long term project, which in the Montgomery playbook will hinge on smart manoeuvres in the transfer market, youth development and the ability to bring out previously hidden talents in his charges.

“We’ve brought seven players in during the window and still have everything to fight for in terms of making the top six,” Montgomery told FTBL.

“Our destiny is in our own hands - the new boys have had a bit of time to gel in and now we just have finish the season as strongly as possible.

“Losing some many key players in January really stretched us - at one point we had six U-18s in the squad. On the positive side some young boys got debuts and had a taste of first team football which is good for the club moving forward.”

Looking back on his Mariners reign, Montgomery sees parallels in terms of embarking on a project which will take time to fully crystallise.

“It took me a couple of years to build that Central Coast side and when I moved on I left a team of champion players and staff for Mark to inherit,” he added.

“I was able to scout and recruit visa players like Angel Torres and Mikael Doka, as well as sign top young talent like Nathan Paull, Bailey Brandtman and Miguel Di Pizio and also bring back Alou Kuol  and Jing Reec, who was a player I had sold two years previously.

“I think I left behind the best team the Mariners have ever had in terms of value - a lot of whom were champions the year before, players like Josh Nisbet, Max Balard, Jacob Farrell and Dan Hall who all graduated through the academy.

“Perhaps people don’t always appreciate that. I remember telling Mark before he took charge ‘you’re taking over the best ever Mariners team on paper and in terms of value they might generate’.

“Jacko is a great guy - we speak a lot and I'm really happy for him, the players and staff that they're continuing to be successful because the squad was built to be sustainable.

 "The challenge I took on here in Scotland was very different - the team were down at the bottom of the league and I went from with the youngest team in the A-League to the oldest average age team in the SPL.

“I knew it was a test but it’s a massive club. But I think the recruitment has been good. There have been five debuts from the academy and a lot of progress, on and off the field.

“The owners have been really supportive - big change is good but it also takes time."