Montgomery speaks on social media noise, Dundee, and top six

Nick Montgomery spoke to the media ahead of Hibs' trip to Motherwell - here's all the Easter Road head coach had to say... 

What sort of effect does the social media noise have on you - particularly the rumours about you not settling in Scotland?

“It’s normal, it’s not frustrating. It’s a part of life that’s been going on for many, many years.

“People must just be bored at home, wanting to start a story [that I haven't settled in Scotland]. The sad thing is that it gets picked up and it actually becomes a story, and that’s when you just have to find it amusing.”

How does the noise compare to the A-League?

“People forget I played in England for a long time. Scotland is its own league; there’s a lot of media attention, there are big clubs in the league, different scenarios with the split and Europe and that creates more noise and more stories, I guess.

“I’m not one for social media. It’s something I try to avoid but I know how it affects the players in general.

“I did see the video that Luton put out about the abuse their players have received on social media and I thought that was brave from them. There are players at our club, and probably at every club in this league, who get abuse and unfortunately that’s a part of our society that we can’t control and can’t change. It’s part of the world we live in now.”

What advantage have Dundee gained from not playing in midweek?

“It’s given them the obvious advantage of not having a midweek game! I think everyone else has had them - we went to Ross County in midweek; a lot of teams have had to travel and play games.

“It’s the advantage of not playing in midweek on a heavy pitch. I think it’s pretty obvious really!”

They will also know what they need to do next Wednesday…

“I saw Philippe Clement’s interview and I thought the way he spoke was fantastic; I was sat there nodding my head at everything he said. 

“I think the most frustrating thing was that everyone knew it was going to rain in the afternoon and the pitch was already a real doubt so for the supporters and teams, a decision on an alternative venue should have been made earlier in the day and it would have been done and dusted.”

Hibs need to do their bit regardless…

“Yes. Of course, people will always throw in different scenarios. This is something we can’t control, I didn’t comment on it.

“I’ve seen a lot of noise about Hibs this, Hibs that but all we’ve concentrated on this week is a reaction to a disappointing result last weekend and knowing that we have to prepare to try to win a game of football against a good Motherwell team.”

What consequences would you favour for teams who do this?

“It’s not my decision! There could be a lot of different consequences but I think rules need to be put in place at the start of the season so there’s no doubt - if this happens, these are the consequences. While there’s no consequence, it can be an advantage or disadvantage. 

“But perhaps it’s something the league can learn from so that in future there’s a real clarity around the consequences if situations like this crop up, because it’s definitely taken the integrity of the competition into question and probably created a lot of noise around a big week for a lot of clubs.

“You want people focusing on the positive things around the league and not on cancelled games in April."

Is it harming Scottish football? 

“It’s not something I want to get drawn into but you don’t want negative stuff about VAR, referees, games called off. It’s a quality league, it’s competitive, it’s physical. There are teams who are getting into Europe and two huge teams who get into the Champions League.  

“There are a lot of positives in the league but it’s a shame that there is a lot of negative stuff around. That’s nothing that we can control. The fact that we are having this conversation and that there are no consequences for games getting cancelled at this time of the year when we are going into the split is really hard to understand."

Can you tell us more about the pre-match huddle?

“That’s a huddle on the pitch and it’s got nothing to do with what we do in the dressing room. David Gray is a big part of the club and he is focused on getting ready for the game after the warm-up. It’s something we spoke about at the start of the season.  

“We prepare tactically, technically and mentally for the game. A lot of football is about mentally and coping with the pressure. There are big expectations at this club. It’s just a couple of words from David Gray and I’ll have my speech before the game. There are certain moments with my talk when I’ll remind the boys of what job we have to do."