Eighteen games; six wins, seven draws, five losses, one cup exit, one derby defeat. Nick Montgomery's first few months as Hibs boss have been fairly solid, if unspectacular. There hasn't really been a stand-out moment - even the loss of just one league match in his first ten, a 4-0 defeat at Ibrox, was overshadowed by the nagging feeling that there should have been a few more victories than there were; three, to be exact; four if you include his first game in charge in which Hibs threw away a two-goal lead at Kilmarnock to draw 2-2. 

Of course, with Kilmarnock currently fourth and six points better off than Hibs, albeit having played two more games, perhaps the encounter at Rugby Park could be considered a good point in the circumstances. But late goals conceded against Ross County and St Mirren brought on the dreaded feeling of déjà vu, and failure to pick off Dundee despite dominating a goalless draw, means Hibs are possibly six points worse off than they should be. Add in the late, avoidable goal conceded against Hearts in the New Year derby and they would be in fourth on 32 points, and their city rivals third with 34. Fine margins, as Montgomery might say ruefully in a post-match debrief.

If this was a school report card about Hibs then it might contain phrases such as, 'shows promise but has a tendency to get distracted towards the end of the day', or 'allows themselves to be too easily led astray'. References, of course, to a tendency to do a lot of the good things, only to undo the hard work with an individual, or collective, brainfade. 'Could do better', essentially. 

The draw with Motherwell on January 2 was Montgomery-era Hibs in microcosm: some scintillating, swashbuckling, cohesive attacking play in the opening half-hour followed by a nervy, leggy, and unproductive 60 minutes or so before Élie Youan, aided by the leg of Bevis Mugabi, ensured a slightly more palatable ending to the first part of the campaign - but not enough to quieten the rumblings of discontent that have been swirling around Easter Road since early December, when a hard-fought victory over Livingston off the back of a humbling at Parkhead brought a welcome three points but a nagging feeling that better teams than the Lions would take advantage.

So it proved against St Johnstone in Perth when an error was punished by Graham Carey and Hibs had no answer. So it proved against Hearts when Martin Boyle couldn't capitalise from 12 yards after Lawrence Shankland had missed his own penalty kick and the same man eventually fired in a late, late winner, with Hibs struggling to overly test Zander Clark bar one or two half-chances. 

Perhaps given how hard a watch Hibs were at times towards the end of the first portion of the campaign, Montgomery might not have been the only person inside Easter Road breathing a sigh of relief when the whistle sounded against Motherwell. There were mitigating factors, of course: a Frankenstein squad of other managers' players, long-term absentees from the first team and a handful of niggly injuries to other players at inopportune moments and, of course, a group of players signed to play a formation not normally favoured by Montgomery. 

Ideally, a few days in Dubai away from the noise and the bubble of Scottish football can help Hibs hit the reset button, focusing on the good bits from Montgomery's tenure so far, and flinging the bad bits as far as possible into the Persian Gulf. We probably saw, in flashes, what Hibs are capable of under Montgomery during his first 18 games. But we also saw too often the parts that need critical surgery if Hibs are to stop rowing in circles. 

The head coach has remained consistent in his approach; rarely breaking character on the touchline or during media briefings and press conferences, as if retaining a quiet confidence that things are going in the right direction. January will be a big month; not just in terms of a bit of squad rearranging to bring in some new faces, but because there is a five-game run against Forfar, Rangers, Kilmarnock, Celtic, and St Mirren that could have a big bearing on the remainder of the season. 

It feels a little harsh to judge Mongomery too much on his first 18 games; the real test will be the second half of the campaign. Should Hibs fans be satisfied with what they've seen so far? Overall, probably not - but dispensing with his services now would keep Hibs trapped in the same cycle that has prevented them from making any real progress for the past three years. Since Montgomery's arrival, there haven't really been any outstanding highs or lows. The team has probably improved in the sense that he has won, or drawn, games that might have been lost under Lee Johnson.

Since the changing of the guard, the mood at the training centre has improved dramatically; there is a buzz that wasn't present previously. Montgomery's insistence on putting the person first and the player second is having a positive effect. Players seem happier as a result; even those with long-term injuries such as Chris Cadden have spoken in glowing terms about the new management team, their attention to detail, and the lengths they go to to ensure everyone feels included. Jair Tavares looks like a different player. Goalkeeping coach Miguel Miranda has, in a relatively short amount of time, transformed David Marshall from one of the league's poorest-performing custodians into one of the consistently better ones. Josh Landers, Rudi Molotnikov, and Rory Whittaker have all made their senior league debuts. Harry McKirdy has taken his first steps towards a comeback. 

When you add that to the work that has already been undertaken off the pitch things are, broadly speaking, looking promising. If the team can start putting in performances on the pitch to achieve results to match, things will be looking even better. The biggest issue facing Montgomery is that these things require something with which modern football managers aren't particularly familiar: time. 

Given how trigger-happy Hibs have been in terms of managers in recent seasons, they need to allow Montgomery time to complete the rebuild that none of his predecessors have been able to. With Brian McDermott in place to lead on recruitment, and Montgomery having clearly defined targets in mind to improve Hibs, the second half of the season should give us a bit more idea of what a Monty side might look like. We will likely have to wait until the summer for more significant change, but the roots are there. Just about.