4 hours ago
Image caption,
Hibs paid substantial summer fees to bring in Dylan Vente and Elie Youan
“Okay is a word you don’t want as a Hibee. Okay is not enough. Fans demand a bit more than that.”
Kevin Thomson knows the club well, having started his career at Easter Road club and returned for two further spells.
The former Scotland midfielder is also kept up to date by his sons, aged 11 and 13, who are academy players and current season-ticket holders with “strong opinions”.
Hibs sit right in the middle of the Premiership table after 20 games. So far, so okay-ish.
Centre ground is certainly an improvement on a disastrous start to the campaign, with Lee Johnson removed as manager after taking zilch from what looked a very favourable first three league fixtures.
However, there is frustration since the early promise of Nick Montgomery’s reign has fizzled out somewhat.
What are the issues Montgomery has to address?
Having lost just once in 12 league games after Johnson’s departure – away to Rangers – Hibs limped into the winter break with one win from five.
The three defeats in that sequence included a game at McDiarmid Park, where they couldn’t muster a single effort on target, and a painful derby mugging at home, courtesy of Lawrence Shankland’s stoppage-time strike.
Montgomery, who picked up the A-League title with Central Coast Mariners in June, has won six of his 18 games in all competitions.
Shaun Maloney, Johnson’s predecessor, was sacked in April 2022 with a record of six wins from 19.
Montgomery earns leeway since he inherited a squad and had to hit the ground running. However, it is a squad that received considerable investment over the summer.
No team outside the Old Firm has scored more Premiership goals, yet Hibs have a negative goal difference.
The Easter Road side have scored twice and not been on the winning side in seven of their league games.
Sorting out the defence seems like the obvious place to start, but there are issues all over the pitch for Montgomery to address.
“He’s had Paul Hanlon and Rocky Bushiri fighting it out to play alongside Will Fish and it looks like he’s a bit unsure on both,” Thomson told the BBC Scottish Football Podcast. “That brings inconsistency when you keep changing the back four.”
Up top, Hibs have the exciting talents of Martin Boyle, Dylan Vente and Elie Youan, but is a rigid adherence to a 4-4-2 formation and patient build-up from the back getting the best out of them?
“I think he has a wee problem in trying to fit the three of them into his system,” Thomson said.
“Youan has been in and out, he’s an off the cuff talent with blistering speed. Vente is a more intricate player, picking up good spaces, and the frustration comes with him dropping deeper and not being in between the sticks.
“The manager is spinning plates at the moment and I think January is a big month [in terms of possible new recruits].
“Hibs fans want exciting football, they want to see the ball moving forward quickly. They want Youan, Boyle and Vente at full throttle and really going for teams.”
Perhaps the biggest area of concern is centre midfield, where Hibs are often outnumbered.
“Joe Newell and Dylan Levitt are quite similar – both lovely footballers, but they’re not the most mobile,” Thomson said. “They need someone to really complement them. Someone with a bit more brawn and aggression.”
Rejuvenated players & clear plan
Montgomery deserves credit for swiftly steadying the ship in the wake of Johnson’s exit. There is an obvious tactical approach following the erratic methods and selections of the former boss.
He has coached Jair Tavares in from the cold and introduced some academy players, most significantly Rory Whittaker, the 16-year-old right-back who had been helping out as a ball boy in the early months of the season.
Veteran Goalkeeper David Marshall also appears to be thriving after some shaky displays under the past regime.
The opening 30 minutes of Montgomery’s first match at Rugby Park in mid-September and the same period in the most recent game at home to Motherwell were full of slick interchanges and lightning attacks. Hibs took the lead in both games and both ended 2-2.
However, those expectations from the stands Thomson talks about often mean patience is in short supply.
2024-01-14 10:47:10
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