Hibernian

Matty Fairnie
Fan writer

The Gordon family finally put Nick Montgomery out of his misery on Tuesday morning, relieving the Hibs head coach of his duties.

The decision felt inevitable after another dismal display on Sunday as we were hammered 4-0 by an Aberdeen who had been below Hibs in the table for the bulk of the season.

The downward trend couldn’t continue, and while somebody losing their job is never something I could take pleasure in, this feels like the only reasonable decision the club could make at this point. Monty had lost the faith and trust of the support, and that is a very hard position to recover from.

It’s hard to pick out any highlights from Monty’s time at Easter Road. There were no real statement wins, no derby victories. The cup semi-final defeat to 10-man Aberdeen turned out to be the biggest game of a hugely disappointing season, and subsequently slumping to ninth place was the final nail in the coffin.

I had been excited at Monty’s appointment, he’d done well in Australia on a limited budget, but things clearly didn’t go to plan.

Even the January transfer activity, which initially looked like it would give Hibs the momentum to push for fourth place, turned out to be a false dawn as the team lurched from one bad result to another.

Questions do now need to be asked of Ben Kensell and Ian Gordon, whose record of managerial appointments reads like a who’s who of failures.

It is essential that they get the next appointment right, but it’s hard to put trust in the people who have got the last few wrong.

Hopefully, the input from Black Knight FC provides Hibs with the right candidate this time.

George O'Neill
BBC Sport Scotland

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Managerial departures are far from a novelty at Easter Road, and Nick Montgomery has become the latest to be shown the exit door by Hibs.

Hibs are now embarking on their sixth managerial search since Neil Lennon left in January 2019. Paul Heckingbottom lasted nine months, Jack Ross 21 months, Shaun Maloney just four months, Lee Johnson 15 months and now Montgomery has gone after eight months.

That record shows a club without direction and without clarity. All of those appointments were made with visions of a long-term 'project', but then none of them were given the time or means to achieve it.

When this season's bottom-six finish was confirmed, the board released a statement saying a full review of the club's football structure will be carried out in conjunction with Black Knight Football Club, the group that holds a 25% stake at Hibs.

Any review needs to expose why Hibs go through managers at such a rate, and allow the club to change and improve moving forwards.

Is it poor recruitment? Is it a lack of experience and expertise at boardroom level? Is it a combination of both?

Hibs are one of the wealthier clubs in the Scottish Premiership, but are being comfortably outperformed by rivals operating on a fraction of the budget. You can have all the money in the world, but it matters little if it isn't being spent wisely.

The fanbase largely stayed away from Easter Road on Sunday. Their team had nothing to play for and they had clearly lost faith in the manager. The empty stands were understandable when you saw the level of performance.

Hibs have to get the next appointment right. They need to find the right man to rejuvenate the fans, and put a structure in place that allows him to deliver results on the pitch.

If they don't, there will be another manager on the Easter Road scrapheap before long.

In a bonus episode of the Scottish football podcast, the demise of Nick Montgomery and what happens next at Hibs is dissected.

The BBC's chief sportswriter Tom English joins our fan columnist Matty Fairnie - of the Longbangers podcast - and host Phil Goodlad to pore over all the latest from Easter Road.

Listen and subscribe to the Scottish football podcast on BBC Sounds

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Hibs went to Fir Park on 13 April knowing they likely needed to win to keep their top-six hopes alive.

Nick Montgomery's side needed to take one more point from this game than Dundee managed over their remaining two pre-split fixtures to leapfrog the Dark Blues in sixth place.

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They looked well on course for three invaluable points when Myziane Maolida scored from the spot 20 minutes into the second half.

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But with just 20 seconds of stoppage time remaining, Motherwell's Shane Blaney lashed home a wonderful equaliser to snatch a point for the hosts.

It proved to be a fatal blow. Dundee's draw away to Aberdeen saw Hibs consigned to the bottom six, a failure that marked the beginning of the end for Montgomery, who has now been sacked a little over a month later.

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Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

So, after achieving just 12 wins in his 37 games in charge, the Hibernian board have bitten the bullet and ended the tenure of Nick Montgomery.

It really should come as no surprise given the board’s history in moving managers on after failing to live up to their expectations since Neil Lennon left in 2019 having lifted the club out of the Championship and back into the top half of the Premiership and a European place.

Jack Ross, in fairness, lasted two years but was sacked 10 days before a League Cup final.

Shaun Maloney lasted just 19 games in the Easter Road dugout, while Lee Johnson was there an entire season before his exit was sealed after an abject start to this current campaign.

Montgomery arrived with a glowing reputation after leading Central Coast Mariners to the A-League title, but after a steady start the failure to reach the top six and a humbling at home on Sunday to Aberdeen snapped the board's patience.

The question has to be asked why there is such a high a turnover of managers at a club that has just about everything in place to ensure success?

And who do they turn to next? Will they look at the experience of Derek McInnes or Stephen Robinson and the excellent jobs they have done at Kilmarnock and St Mirren respectively this season on a smidgen of Hibs' budget?

Lennon brought success to Hibs when he arrived in the summer of 2016 and is currently available for hire. He would steady the ship but would the fans accept him back?

Some candidates may look at the managerial upheaval at the club over the past few years and be put off.

Not for the first time the pressure is now on the board to make the right appointment for the long-term future of Hibs.

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• Hibs have won just four league games since 9 December, with three of those coming against the Scottish Premiership's bottom three sides.

• In 32 league matches as Hibs boss, Montgomery won nine, drew 12 and lost 11, giving him a win percentage of 28.

• Under Nick Montgomery, Hibs conceded an average of 1.56 goals per game in the league.

• Hibs kept nine clean sheets under Montgomery's management, but only three of those were in 2024.

• Myziane Maolida was Hibs' top scorer during Montgomery's time at the club, with the winger netting eight goals in all competitions.

Image source, bbc

The managerial churn continues at Easter Road, with Nick Montgomery the latest incumbent jettisoned.

Montgomery, who only took charge in September, was under severe pressure after failing to steer the club to a top-six finish and has now paid the ultimate price with two games of a wretched Hibs season remaining.

Have the board acted too hastily or made the right call in removing Montgomery? And who would you like to see replace him?

Let us know your thoughts here

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Hibs owners the Gordon family say the sacking of head coach Nick Montgomery was necessary to "move the team forward".

Montgomery has been dismissed after just eight months in charge, with Hibs ninth in the Premiership having lost 4-0 at home to Aberdeen on Sunday.

Alongside Montgomery, coaches Sergio Raimundo and Miguel Miranda also depart with immediate effect.

The Gordon family said: “As a board this was not a decision we made lightly, but felt it a necessary one to move the team forward.

"Although Nick and his coaching team worked tirelessly, their efforts didn’t deliver the results we had hoped for.

“We’d like to thank Nick, Sergio, and Miguel for all of their hard work and dedication, and wish them all the best for the future.”

After Saturday's disappointing 4-0 defeat to Aberdeen, Nick Montgomery will be hoping for a response from his side.

But who should be in his starting line-up?

Put yourself in the manager's shoes and pick your XI here.

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Hibs defender Rocky Bushiri apologised to the club's fans after Sunday's chastening defeat to Aberdeen at Easter Road, which he says simply wasn't up to scratch.

Nick Montgomery's side were thrashed 4-0 by the Dons to the disgust of the home support, and Bushiri wants a response against Motherwell on Wednesday.

"It was embarrassing," he told the club's media. "Not good enough. The way we started the game it looked like there was something for us. When you concede two goals that quick it starts to become hard.

"We apologise to the fans because we all feel like we've let loads of people down. Wednesday is our last home game - let's do it for the badge, for Paul [Hanlon], for [Lewis Stevenson] and for the fans.

"It's been a difficult season, but let's give them a positive result on Wednesday."

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Hibs recent slump is "unacceptable" but Nick Montgomery deserves more time to make his mark, says former Easter Road striker Darren Jackson.

Jackson, who won 28 Scotland caps, played for the Leith side between 1992 to 1997 before moving to Celtic, where he won the league title in 1998.

Hibs' 4-0 defeat to Aberdeen on Sunday means they have lost four of their last six matches.

"It is concerning," Jackson told BBC Radio Scotland.

“It’s unacceptable, and Nick Montgomery will know it's unacceptable.

"I've been to a few games and the performances have just not been good enough at all."

Hibs are ninth in the Premiership and have matches at home to Motherwell and away to Livingston to wrap up a disappointing season.

"I don't think they'll look upon it that he has to win the two remaining games to keep his job," said Jackson.

"Listen, they can't keep sacking managers. You look at Shaun Maloney, he got one transfer window and it was the January transfer window which is the hardest one.

"Nick went in there and they did their due diligence on him and they thought he was the man. So you need to possibly give him another transfer window.

"He'll know now by the reaction of the fans that it's not good enough and he has to get recruitment right."

We asked you whether Nick Montgomery should stay or go after Hibs fell to a deflating 4-0 defeat at home to Aberdeen.

Here's what some of you had to say:

Martin: He’s got to go. Montgomery isn't the man to lead us forward.

Scott: Montgomery and ALL the backroom staff - get rid. Three or four players for keeping the rest - get rid. If things don't radically change, we should rename the club Hibernian Apathy FC.

John: Nobody with any sense expected Montgomery to take last year's squad and be fighting for 3rd place, but fans expect to see progress. We are a worse now than in his first few weeks and that's simply not good enough. Hibs need to stop sacking managers, but the best way to do that is by hiring a good one, not by keeping a nice guy who's out of his depth.

Kenny: Embarrassing. Looks to me that Montgomery has lost the dressing room. The fans also voted with their feet as the stadium was half empty. Our best players will head for the exit door if the chairman doesn’t act now. Bring in Neil Lennon and hopefully get a team sorted for next season.

David: It's over to the owners now. They stated results must improve. They haven't. Montgomery is out his depth & has been for months. We are miles off the team Lee Johnston had at the same point last term winning eight points in the top six & almost clinching fourth. It's unthinkable that he's in the dugout on Wednesday.

John: Worst display of the season - £32 for that rubbish. Every player should be released or put up for sale. Definitely need a complete clear out and no more loan signings.

Stephen: Montgomery needs to go unfortunately, along with quite a few players too. This has been by far the worst season I've witnessed and this investment needs to drastically improve the team for next season. Otherwise, we will continue to be a laughing stock.

Roger: The problems are obviously at board level. It needs someone who has the club’s best interests at heart and the financial muscle to take over. Latest result nothing short of embarrassing.

Gordon: Go now Monty. And take the board and recruitment staff with you. The Gordons are absolutely killing my club.

Stewart: Manager needs time. The players lacking need to have look at themselves. The defence is nowhere near good enough all season.

Aldo: That was a total embarrassment and completely unacceptable. I was 50/50 on Monty as I’m sick of the chopping and changing of managers but he’s completely out his depth and has to go. What a mess we’re in. So easy to play against, and totally lacking in spirit.

Watch highlights as Aberdeen thrash Hibs in the Scottish Premiership.

Available to UK users only.

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• Aberdeen have scored four goals in a game for the first time since 1 November 2023 against Motherwell (W4-2).

• Aberdeen have beaten Hibernian for the first time in the Scottish Premiership since 4 November 2022, a run of five games without a win.

• Aberdeen have won their last three games in the Scottish Premiership, their last longer winning streak was from 25 February 2023 to 23 April 2023, a run of seven games.

• Aberdeen have kept a clean sheet in each of their last five games in the Scottish Premiership, a run of 577 minutes without conceding a goal.

• The last time Aberdeen went longer without conceding a goal in the Premiership was a run of eight games from 23 November 2014 to 10 January 2015.

Nick Montgomery has pleaded for patience, pointing out that Hibernian's new investors knew he needed four or five new players in a summer rebuild of the squad, amid renewed calls for the head coach to be sacked after Saturday's 4-0 home defeat by Aberdeen. (Edinburgh Evening News) , external

Raith Rovers manager Ian Murray is keen to sign veteran defenders Lewis Stevenson and Paul Hanlon as they prepare to leave Hibernian this summer but reckons he will face serious competition from every club in the Scottish Championship. (Fife Today), external

Read Monday's Scottish Gossip in full here.

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Hibernian head coach Nick Montgomery: "The performance for 30 minutes was very good. Then we conceded one shot on goal and conceded a goal and then we conceded two shots on goal and conceded a second goal.

"For all the effort that we put in and all that good play we had in that 30 minutes, it's undone. It's a real disappointing result, embarrassing result to be honest at home. It's not what anyone wanted.

"We have to, no matter what happens, the players go over and they clap the fans. When you win, they're happy, when you lose, they're not happy.

"It's difficult. That's when you have to stay strong and keep believing in what you believe in. We let them down today. It's a difficult result."

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Aberdeen cranked up the pressure on Hibernian head coach Nick Montgomery with a morale-sapping and emphatic victory at Easter Road in the Scottish Premiership bottom six.

Montgomery was told by the Hibs board last month that results and performances must improve - but the hosts were easily swept aside as Aberdeen recorded a third straight win.

Stunning strikes from Leighton Clarkson and Dante Polvara had the Dons comfortably ahead the break before Bojan Miovski and 16-year-old debutant Fletcher Boyd completed a hammering.

Aberdeen move seventh, top of the bottom six, while Hibs slip to ninth.

What did you make of that, Hibs fans? How much pressure is Montgomery under? Should he stay or should he go?

Let us know your thoughts here.

Andrew Petrie
BBC Sport Scotland

There will be no Paul Hanlon or Lewis Stevenson at Easter Road next season. At the moment, it looks like there will be no Nick Montgomery either.

Ever since that Hibernian board statement a few weeks ago, the head coach has been on a long, slow march to the exit door.

Never has that looked more certain than today. The few fans that did turn up were less than impressed by the rudderless, pedestrian football on offer and let their feelings be known.

He has cut a resolute, stoic figure at times. Every so often, there's been a glimpse of the football he wants Hibs to play - flashes of brilliance from Martin Boyle, Elie Youan, or Myziane Maolida.

But those moments have been few and far between. There was almost none of them today, and behind those moments, there is nothing.

Hibernian: Wollacott, Cadden, Bushiri, Hanlon, Obita, Moriah-Welsh, Newell, Boyle, Marcondes, Maolida, Vente.

Substitutes: Johnson, Levitt, Doyle-Hayes, Amos, Stevenson, Le Fondre, Triantis, Tavares, Campbell.

Aberdeen: Roos, Devlin, MacDonald, Gartenmann, MacKenzie, Barron, Polvara, McGrath, Clarkson, Hoilett, Miovski.

Substitutes: Doohan, Shinnie, Jensen, Duk, McGarry, Sokler, Milne, Rubezic, Boyd.

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Hibernian midfielder Jake Doyle-Hayes is set to make his comeback for the Easter Road side during the final games of the season, according to manager Nick Montgomerie, after being sidelined through injury since August. (Express, print only)

Read the rest of today's gossip here