Hibernian

Matty Fairnie
Fan writer

Hibs’ fate as a bottom-six club this season was sealed with a late Motherwell equaliser at Fir Park on Saturday.

Hibs only had to see out the last 20 seconds or so to scrape into the top half of the table when it mattered, but the same old failings that have seen us throw away so many points from winning positions this season came back to haunt us again.

The fallout from this result will put the club under pressure to either publicly back Nick Montgomery, or replace him.

It’s hard to make a case for the beleaguered boss. On virtually any measure you care to select, he’s not improved the team since arriving just four matches into the season.

Only eight league wins from 28 matches under Montgomery tells the story of a season that promised much but failed to deliver.

The club must now decide whether to stick or twist – there’s no doubt Hibs need stability, but it’s also true a marked improvement is required.

And so the question that needs to be answered is: is Nick Montgomery the man to take Hibs forward?

From what we’ve seen this season, I can’t say confidently there’s enough evidence to suggest that he is.

Matty Fairnie can be found on the Longbangers podcast, external

Ex-Hibernian striker Tam McManus says more fingers should be "pointed in the direction of the boardroom" after another "totally unacceptable" season. (Daily Record)

Read the rest of Tuesday's gossip.

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A club of Hibs' size missing out on the top six signals a "poor season", according to former Scotland defender Richard Foster.

Shane Blaney's last-gasp equaliser for Motherwell confirmed a bottom-half finish for Nick Montgomery's side after Dundee picked up a point at Pittodrie.

"To see how devastated the Hibs players were on the pitch - to a man they were sat down, head between their legs, obviously incredibly disappointed because it's been a poor season from Hibs," Foster told BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"I know there's been a bit of change. You mentioned all those guys coming in in January. That's sometimes not always a good thing. It takes time for players to gel and get to know each other.

"But in terms of the size of the club, the facilities they have got, the budget - Hibs are a team that the fans will expect them to be at least top six. Hibs will be expecting to be challenging for the European spots.

"They will not be accepting of a team who just dribble into the top six. For a team who have not even made the top six, I think they've had a real poor season.

Former Scotland international and Hibs fan Pat Nevin hopes the Easter Road club stick by under-pressure head coach Nick Montgomery.

The Englishman has faced tough questions in recent weeks, with doubts intensifying from some quarters of the Hibs support after they missed out on the top six courtesy of a last-gasp Motherwell equaliser on Saturday.

"Do you know what's amazing in football? How much difference a couple of seconds make," Nevin told BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"Had that 94th minute equaliser not gone in, Hibs would have been in a real position where they could have been in the top six.

"It takes a little while to get players in and players out that you want and then to settle into the game as well.

"I am one of these people, I'm not quick to shout for manager's heads. It's just I know how tough a job it is. I know that the very, very best ones are generally the ones that are not there for nine months. They're the ones that are there for two, three, four, five years and are given an opportunity to build something.

"So in my mind, he's still okay, he's done enough. I know every Hibernian fan won’t feel exactly the same about it and I would respect that, but you've got to give people opportunities and I certainly hope there's no knee-jerk reactions over the next wee while just because they're not in the top six."

Pat Nevin and Richard Foster join Liam McLeod to pick over the bones of another incredible weekend of Scottish football drama.

They look back on Ross County’s historic victory over Rangers and discuss what impact it could have at both ends of the table.

They also assess the jobs done by Tony Docherty and Nick Montgomery as Dundee secure their place in the top 6 at the expense of Hibs and Motherwell.

Listen to today's episode of the Scottish Football Podcast here.

On-loan defender Will Fish says the elation to devastation that Hibernian felt in a matter of seconds at Fir Park encapsulated a campaign that promised so much but which he admits has been a failure. (Daily Record)

Read the rest of Monday's gossip.

We asked for your thoughts after Hibs' goalless draw against Motherwell consigned them to a bottom-six finish in the Scottish Premiership.

Here's a taste of what you had to say:

Bea: Absolutely terrible is how I describe Hibs at the moment. No fight and no guts. I hate to say it because I really wanted it to work but Montgomery is not the man to take us forward. I really question his decision making and his ability to motivate. Another poor season.

Alex: Simply not good enough and they got what they deserved, we've dropped 10 points in time added on this season.

Liam: Given the comparative budgets and quality of players, for Hibs to miss out on the top six behind sides like St Mirren, Dundee and Kilmarnock is absolutely unforgivable. The football side of the club has been totally mismanaged under the Gordons’ ownership. We are weak and the culture needs changed from top to bottom as this was wholly predictable.

Michael: Funnily enough I don’t blame Montgomery for this result, I thought we deserved to win and should’ve took our chances. Sloppy defending yet again. However only winning nine league games so far this season is abysmal. Not sure where the club goes from here. Dire times being a Hibee yet again!

Dougie: Huge clear out needed, starting with Rocky Bushiri, David Marshall and Will Fish. We cant keep sacking the manager, these players have to take responsibility. There's far too many loan players. Get quality players in on permanent deals, let them gel and give us what the hardworking fans deserve.

Ken: This may be controversial but I would rather see the Hibees build up confidence with a few wins in the bottom six than continue the suffering and lack of confidence against the top six. Europe was out of the question and there was nothing other than pride to play for so let’s build towards next season and the forthcoming transfer window.

Anon: Let’s be honest, this game isn’t the reason we’ve missed out on the top six; performances all season haven’t been good enough. We’ve dropped far too many points from good positions which says something about the teams mentality. Questions have to be asked as to whether Monty has shown he’s good enough for this job; at this point you’d have to say no.

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Hibs defender Will Fish issued an apology to the club's supporters after Saturday's 1-1 draw away at Motherwell consigned them to a bottom-half league finish.

Shane Blaney's stoppage-time strike cancelled out Myziane Maolida's penalty to deny Hibs the three points they needed to go above Dundee, and Fish says it simply wasn't good enough.

"It's obviously really tough to take right now," he said. "The boys are devastated and we want to apologise to the fans first and foremost.

"We've let them down. We've let the club down. So now it's going to take some time to digest, it's a cruel game.

"We're all disappointed to be in the bottom six, and this club should never, never be there. It's down to us and we take responsibility for that.

"It's something that we have to take on the chin and try and make the best out of a bad situation."

Pressure has mounted on manager Nick Montgomery in recent weeks, but Fish believes Hibs will come good if the Englishman is given time.

"That's something that's never crossed anyone's minds," Fish said, when asked about the manager's position. "I think Nick is going to be a really good manager for this football club, and the good times will come.

"Hopefully he gets a summer window out the way and then next season is a fresh start. The coaching staff he's got behind him are really good. Hopefully he stays with us and progresses to next season with his ideas."

Were you at Fir Park on Sunday or following the match from home? What did you make of the game?

Give us your thoughts here.

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Hibs boss Nick Montgomery tells BBC Scotland: "It's really hard to explain how that happened but it's happened too many times to us this season, one shot on target and we concede from it.

"I think we could have had two or three goals today and the game could have been more than over way before that incident.

"Everybody is devastated in there, they put their heart and soul into the performance. We were 20 seconds away from still having a great chance to be in the top six so we will have to reflect on that now and move forward.

"I came in and the club was in a difficult position. I have done everything I possibly can.

"We brought in some very good players in January but as a club we have to reflect on the season.

"We can look back at all the things that have gone wrong and gone against us but we should have won the game today. I thought the boys were brave and played really well but we can only look back with regret now that we dropped too many points from games we should have won."

Charlotte Cohen
BBC Sport Scotland

It’s not been the easiest of times for Nick Montgomery following last weekend’s defeat to St Johnstone and Saturday was the chance to throw themselves a lifeline before Dundee’s game against Rangers on Wednesday.

The Hibs manager stressed before the game that his side were only focusing on what they could control and were going out to get all three points this afternoon and it looked like they were about to do just that, with the help of a soft penalty.

But as we’ve seen so often from Hibs this season, they couldn’t manage to see the game out. From their eight shots, four of which were on target, they only found the back of the net once and that was from the penalty spot.

The failure to secure top six will no doubt raise further questions of the manager who was already in a bit of trouble before this afternoon.

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Motherwell: Kelly, O'Donnell, McGinn, Casey, Blaney, Gent, Miller, Zdravkovski, Spittal, Vale, Bair.

Substitutes: Oxborough, Mugabi, Halliday, Shaw, Nicholson, Moses, Ferrie, L. Ross, Butcher.

Hibernian: Marshall, Cadden, Fish, Bushiri, Obita, Newell, Moriah-Welsh, Marcondes, Boyle, Youan, Maolida.

Substitutes: Wollacott, Hanlon, Levitt, Vente, Stevenson, Le Fondre, Jair, Campbell, J. MacIntyre.

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Joe Newell says Saturday's game against Motherwell is a "must win" and they'll do everything they can to secure top six.

They potentially won't know their post-split future until after Dundee's game on Wednesday but Newell knows they should've had it secured before now.

"I'm treating it as a must-win game," he said.

"Partly because if we get in the top six we need to be chasing down the European spaces.

"If we do get over the line we're not just there to make up the numbers, we're there for fourth or fifth spot and one of those European places.

"It's been a very up and down season, a turbulent start and spells of good form and bad form.

"We're not deluded, we know we shouldn't be in this position, it was our intention to be in the top six and have it secured before this point.

"We are where we are because of results, all we can do is win the game on Saturday and hopefully it's enough."

Adam Devine (knee) is a doubt for Motherwell while Callum Slattery (knee), Harry Paton (ankle), Barry Maguire (chest) and Adam Montgomery (hamstring) are still sidelined.

Will Fish has recovered from a virus to take his place in the Hibernian squad. Dylan Vente has returned to training while Lewis Miller is maybe another week away as Luke Amos and Jake Doyle-Hayes make their way back to fitness.

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What the latest Dens Park call-off has done is ensure the stakes remain high at Fir Park, where eighth host seventh as both look to stay in the top-six hunt.

Motherwell must beat Hibs and hope sixth-placed Dundee take nothing from their visit to Aberdeen on Saturday or from their eventual meeting with Rangers.

Hibs must take one more point than Dundee manage over their remaining games to leapfrog the Dark Blues in sixth place.

While Motherwell kept their hopes alive with a dramatic comeback at Dens Park last weekend, Hibs suffered a dreadful home defeat to St Johnstone to surrender the initiative.

Now the Edinburgh side need to quell renewed disquiet from some fans over head coach Nick Montgomery and hope to end a run of four away games without a victory - and only one win in five overall.

Motherwell aim to bring fine away form - they have won three in a row on the road - to Fir Park if they are to end a run of three at home without a victory.

It will be tense and it may well be high-scoring, considering the fixture has produced 16 goals in the latest four meetings.

Motherwell are seeking a second top-six finish in three years, while a second failure for Hibs over the same period would heap pressure on Montgomery. It's make-or-break time.

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Nick Montgomery believes that the rearranged fixture between Dundee and Rangers will affect the "integrity" of the Scottish Premiership.

The twice postponed match will now take place after the final round of fixtures before the league's split.

Even if Nick Montgomery's side beat Motherwell this weekend and Dundee lose to Aberdeen, they will be forced to wait until Wednesday to find out whether or not they have a place in the top six.

“It’s disappointing [that] another game has been called off," said Montgomery.

"It probably just affects the last round [of fixtures] and the integrity of the competition.

“I saw the comments from Philippe Clement and Stuart [Kettlewell]. I’ve not really commented because it’s nothing really that I can control or that we can control.

"But everyone knew there was a real chance that game was going to be off. I think the forecast of rain later that afternoon meant it was going to be off.

“It’s such a shame there wasn’t an alternative venue arranged to play the game. Obviously for us, and for Rangers going into that game, you can understand Philippe's comments as well.

“It's nothing that we can control and doesn’t really affect our mindset going into the game because it’s a game we need to win.”