Two games, two defeats for Hibs this week, however the mood in the wake of the midweek loss to Celtic is markedly different from that which clouded Saturday, and the following days.

Saturday’s showing was, I think, as bad as any performance I have seen from Hibs, full stop. It was offensively bad. It’s genuinely bewildering how any team at this level of professional football could produce a display that genuinely had no redeeming features. The only positive to take from the game was that we only lost by three goals.

Hibs left the field at half-time to a chorus of boos from those that hadn’t already left Easter Road, having not mustered a solitary effort on goal and conceded three to a St Mirren side looking to extend a points lead on the hosts that they could scarcely afford to grow.

St Mirren were good, but they really didn’t have to be. All they needed to do was work hard and wait for Hibs to self-destruct, which we duly did. It was brutal viewing, and the team were justifiably booed back onto the pitch for the second half.

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Had the Hibs’ board taken the knee-jerk reaction to part ways with Montgomery immediately after the game, I genuinely don’t think may people would have complained – including the manager!

Rumours of some home truths being told at training on Monday gave some glimmer of hope that we might see a reaction when Celtic came calling on Wednesday night. A daunting task at the best of times, the prospect of what might happen to this beleaguered Hibs side if Celtic were on their game was enough to give you nightmares.

However, in true Hibs style, some pride was restored with a storming second-half performance as they came back from a goal down to equalise, only to lose the game in the cruellest manner as VAR came to Celtic’s rescue in stoppage time, sending referee, Nick Walsh, to the monitor to award a late penalty kick for a foul on Kyogo by Joe Newell.

Celtic’s opener had also come from the spot, Walsh judging a clash of heads between Nectar Triantis and Alistair Johnston to be worthy of a foul. It was a contentious decision, to say the least – probably correct, but a foul that you rarely see given.

Hibs introduced Myziane Maolida in the second half and he was immediately fouled as he raced through the Celtic defence. From the resulting free kick, Dylan Levitt volleyed home from the edge of the area to bring Hibs level. Hopefully, the goal gives Levitt’s Hibs career the boost it desperately needs, both he and Newell definitely benefited from the impressive Nathan Moriah-Welsh alongside them in midfield, with the team functioning much better as a result.

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It was significant too, that Lewis Miller and Martin Boyle’s return gave a much more effective feel to the right-hand side. Montgomery could certainly have done with them on Saturday.

Boyle was booked for simulation just after Levitt’s goal. TV replays showed there was contact on his knee and again you have to ask whether VAR is in place for both sides, as a review on the monitor would surely have cleared up any doubts as to why Boyle hit the deck.

The team left the pitch to applause from the support, a far cry from the hounding they faced on Saturday, and they deserved the credit. Some bridges were definitely built by a team who scrapped and fought for the jersey throughout the night.

Off the field, Hibs released their accounts for the year, and they made for grim reading. A near-£4m loss reflected the club throwing money at a team that failed to hit its targets on the pitch. The notes on the accounts point to a significant upturn in income in the current year that will put the crucial wages-to-turnover percentage back towards the recommended 65 per cent from the unsustainable and, frankly, alarming 81 per cent quoted in the accounts.

The AGM is scheduled at the end of the month, and shareholders will have the chance to vote on the investment proposal put forward to allow Bill Foley’s Black Knight Football Club to buy into the club.

I suspect the club are confident that the resolutions will gain the required level of support to pass, but it’s not unreasonable to say the board will be expected to spend any new money much more wisely than they have done so far if Hibs are to make the most of it.