Top line summary

  • Close to a defender on a permanent deal.
  • Jeggo replacement will be similar midfield profile.
  • Style of play not the issue against Rangers.
  • Rejects claims Hibs are too easy to play against.

Nick Montgomery spoke to the media ahead of Hibs' trip to Kilmarnock on Saturday. Here's everything the manager had to say...

A defender close to signing, is it someone you've been looking at for a while?

"No, it is someone we have been looking at a while when we have a list of potentials. It is just about monitoring the situation. But this is a live one that we are really confident that we can bring in and can help us from now until the end of the season. 

"I mentioned many times, it is not easy. We had targets in others positions and circumstances change quickly. I have always said it is important to bring in players that can impact the team and help us where we want to get and not sign players because they are a number. We know we have a lot of players coming back as well so what we cannot have is a lot of players coming back and no space for them. We know the international boys and the injures boys are coming back and they are top players who will definitely be in the squad starting or on the bench and we just have to monitor that.

What's your criteria for a defender?

"He has got to be comfortable on the ball, he has got to be athletic and fit into the way that we play. It is my first time to recruit players to the club so it is always important to try and recruit the type of players that can sustain the way you want to play. Again, looking forward to another signing coming in possibly today and possibly another next week, our last signing who will hopefully be a defender. 

Is it someone like Luke and Emiliano who hasn't been playing?

"Yes, unless you pay a big transfer fee it is hard to find someone who has been playing week in week out. It is a player who has had quite a few games this season. I cannot say much more than that but we are really hopeful we can bring him in next week. 

Are you looking at a permanent deal?

"Yes, I think it is a permanent deal. That is something we have been discussing. The big picture is that we want players and we need players for next season. To get players in now gives them a good six months to get them up to speed and then a pre-season which I did not have this season and an opportunity to bring them in for the long term. 

It is good to have a couple of loans like we have brought in because it is very hard to sign the quality players that we have in Myziane and Emiliano on full contacts. It is always a different situation for every player. That is something we will work out in the next week. 

With Jimmy Jeggo heading out, is it a similar profile of midfielder you're looking at?

"Definitely. Obviously we are losing Jimmy. I was not going to hold Jimmy back from going because for him and his family it was the right opportunity and the right time for him. It is definitely someone in same position. He is someone with good energy and he will bring a new energy to the team. We need competition for places all over and that is something we have struggled with all season due to the amount of players missing this season. 

Kilmarnock away tomorrow and back to where it started for you, how has the team progressed since that?

"I think there has been a lot of progress on and off the field, a lot of what people don’t see. On the field we have had a lot of good performances. We have been unfortunate in a lot of games not to get more points. But we have to be responsible for that as well. A lot of leads we lost from a winning position. But that goes down to the strength and depth you have in the squad. And unfortunately we have a lot of good players – JDH, Le Fondre, Chrissy Cadden, Josh Campbell, Harry McKirdy – who can really impact have been unavailable. Five players have made their debut from the academy, from the Under 18 squad. For them to make their debut is going to give valuable experience moving forward and that is something I am really proud of. I think where we are right now, the January window is coming and it has been a really good opportunity to try and bring some players into the club at a time when we have needed players into the squad. I am concentrating on tomorrow’s game at Killie which is a good opportunity for us. Every week that goes by is a week closer to getting some of the players back from international duty and by then we really will have competition for places and a strong squad moving towards the second half of the season. I’d have liked more points on the board but bar a few games, we have competed in every game and been close to getting more points than we have. I accept that is where we are right now and I know the big picture of the club and the club’s ambitions and my ambition and I focus on that and concentrate on each game as it comes. 

Do you feel bedded in to Scottish football now?

“Yeah. It’s been four months, I came in after a pre-season and with the team near the bottom of the league. There’s been highs and lows, which I expected. Right now, we’ve been in a bit of a mini-rebuild in this window, and there will be more rebuilding into the summer. Most teams go through these transitions, but I feel firmly bedded in. I know the expectations at this club, I knew the challenge when I took the job on. It’s never an easy challenge coming into a big club with big expectations. That’s why it’s important that the players I bring in understand this is a club with high expectations. The big picture is hopefully with the Bournemouth investment and the rebuild of the squad. There’s a lot of young players coming into the team making debuts. When I came into the club, that was one of the remits. That’s what this club has been known for over the years. Fans can see players coming through the academy out there wearing the Hibs shirt, but it’s important that they’re good enough and that we bed them in. We’ve got players out on loan gaining experience, hopefully they’ll come back better for that experience – like Kanayo Megwa. What a game to start for your debut, not an easy game but circumstances presented themselves as a great opportunity for him. I’m really proud of the way he played, it’s a real learning experience for him."

We're seeing transition in personnel, is the style of play still in transition, too?

“In terms of the players coming it’s been a transition. People talk about the style of play, but the style is the reason why we had four or five opportunities to score against Rangers the other night. Had we taken those chances, the game could have been different. We know that, as a team, we need to stop conceding soft goals at times. But, to me, that’s not down to the style of play, that’s key moments. Against quality opposition, those moments are the difference in the game. That’s something we’re constantly working on. With the size of the squad and players we’ve had missing, it’s been hard to have strength in depth and competition for places. The performances have been mostly good, bar one or two. But that’s what you get over a season, and results will always be scrutinised. I think the performances have deserved more points, and we’ll continue to work and adapt with the new players coming in. Over the next few weeks, they’ll bed into the system and people will be able to see the quality of player we’ve brought in.

How close are Luke and Emiliano to starting?

“Emiliano brought real calmness and leadership on Wednesday – everyone can see he’s a quality player. These new players will take a couple of weeks to get up to speed, and the only way to do that is train and play games. Apart from four days of set-pieces and tactical walkthroughs, they haven’t had much training. There’s every chance Emiliano will be ready to start tomorrow, or come off the bench whatever we decide. You can’t doubt his quality.

Some ex-players and pundits have said Hibs are too easy to play against, is that a fair assessment?

“Look, I’m in a position where I’ll get praise when it goes well, and criticism when it doesn’t. Losing a game to a team with the quality of Rangers is not going to define me or the season. Yes, you don’t want to concede soft goals but we need to look at the opportunities we created. If we put those chances away it could be a different game. I don’t really get caught up with any of that stuff, I focus on what I know is right, and what we’re doing. Everyone’s got their own opinion, that’s normal, it’s the world we live in.

Are you too easy to play against?

“I don’t think so. We’re really stretched at the minute in terms of what we have available, but I don’t think we’re too easy to play against. I do want to be harder to play against. We went through a period where we had a lot of clean sheets and good results, and if you look at the team then compared to now it’s very different with so many players out. I can only be brave and play some of the young players right now, it’s a great opportunity for them and they’ll grow from it. Yeah, we want to be harder to play against but sometimes that’s putting your opportunities away at the other and punishing teams when you’re on top. We don’t want to concede goals, especially soft goals, so we’re working on it all the time. It’s a question that I think any manager would answer the same. We want to be tougher to play against and we’re trying everything to make sure that we are."