One of the biggest changes Hibs have made under Nick Montgomery is the way they play out from the back. Craig Nisbet (@9125analysis) takes a closer look at it
Playing out from the back has had a knock-on effect on how Hibs build possession, which under previous regimes often looked aimless; possession for possession's sake, or resorting to long balls when they couldn’t break an opponent down. It’s early days, but Montgomery has already established clear structures and routines from goal kicks when Hibs are building possession from the back.
Playing out from goal kicks
From goal kicks, Hibs set up with the centre-backs on either corner of the six-yard box. The full-backs are high and wide, usually in line with the 18-yard box. The two central midfielders drop to the outskirts of the penalty area and that leaves the wingers and strikers to create a quartet that pushes high up onto the opposition's defence. This set-up is designed to draw the opponent forward and engage a press, before looking to play through them or over them as quickly as possible and get the forward players on the ball. It is important to note that Hibs may not always set up like this. The opponent, the score, the personnel, the type of game and even the conditions may mean Montgomery tells his side to go more direct.
Against Dundee, Tony Docherty's side pressed Hibs aggressively. You can see Zak Rudden and Amadou Bakayako on the edge of the penalty area, Luke McCowan and Malachi Boateng covering Jimmy Jeggo and Joe Newell, and Lyall Cameron picking up Lewis Stevenson. As Hibs begin to move the ball, Bakayako and Rudden enter the penalty box, with David Marshall eventually finding Paul Hanlon who drives out and, pressured by Rudden, eventually feeds the ball into Youan.
Hearts and Kilmarnock adopted a similar approach but both tried to ensure that Rocky Bushiri would always get possession of the ball. At Tynecastle, Lawrence Shankland covered Will Fish, Alex Lowry took care of Jeggo and Cammy Devlin pushed forward to pick up Newell and Alan Forrest, just out of shot, picking up Jordan Obita. Once the ball is played to Rocky, the press begins to try and force him into playing a poor pass or turning back and finding Marshall with Hearts then aggressively pressing to force a long ball forward and a potential turnover of possession.
This is where there has been a lot of debate around who should play at LCB: Hanlon or Rocky? There is no doubt that Rocky has improved under Montgomery; he has carried the ball out reasonably successfully and shown he is more than capable of building attacks from the back. Hanlon has the advantage of being naturally left-sided, meaning that under an aggressive press, he can play long, diagonal or forward more comfortably than Rocky can. Against Dundee, Hanlon also showed his attacking threat by overlapping down the left when it was difficult to break Dundee’s very well-organised low defensive block. In Fish, Hanlon, Rocky and also Riley Harbottle, Hibs have four centre-backs who can and want to progress the ball forward through the lines. Of course they will make mistakes, as every team does when you look to play the way Montgomery wants, but it's an improvement on what we saw before.
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Not all teams press aggressively throughout the game, however. In the second half of the Viaplay Cup quarter-final St Mirren sat off and allowed Hibs to bring the ball out of their box before pressing. In the pictures below, Hibs show a lot of patience, with the ball being worked several times between Fish, Marshall and Rocky before the latter has enough space in which to drive forwards. Incidentally, Marshall has become incredibly important to how Hibs play. His decision-making on the ball and weight of pass dictates what the team does next. You can also see Jeggo dropping deep as Hibs move the ball, and he has become another critical part of how we build possession.
Building possession from deep and Jeggo's impact
There have never been any questions or criticisms about Jeggo’s defensive capabilities in the middle of the park. It’s clear when you are watching him from the stands, and he has the statistics to back it up. However, he was often caught in possession or gave the ball away with an under-hit or overhit pass. Montgomery strikes me as a manager who can quickly identify his players' strengths and weaknesses and make sure that, in his system, the strengths are amplified, and the weaknesses are contained as best as possible. Jeggo doesn’t need to make line-breaking passes or switch the play – Hibs have others that can do that - but what he does in possession means the team can get the ball up the pitch much more quickly, and under less pressure.
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Both Dundee and St Mirren played with two strikers, and this makes it difficult for the Hibs centre-backs to progress with the ball as they will constantly be under pressure. When the ball is moving between Marshall and the centre backs, Jeggo drops in between them, pushing them wide to create a back three. In both examples, this simple action gives the strikers a decision to make. If they target the centre-backs, it opens up the whole pitch for Jeggo to play into, but if they stay together to try to force the ball wide (which happens most of the time), as long as the centre-backs are positioned well and Jeggo can play the ball quickly and accurately, Hibs can drive forward into the opponent's half.
Against Hearts' 4-2-3-1 setup, it was more challenging for Jeggo but in the example below, he manages to move off Lowry for a crucial few seconds to receive the ball from Marshall and play it first time out to Fish, who can then step forward with the ball. If you'd told me a few months ago that Marshall and Jeggo would be executing a play like this at Tynecastle, I’m not sure I would have believed you.
In the final example, Jeggo drives across the pitch and plays the ball to Rocky who goes straight into Obita. Newell drops in and takes the ball under pressure, with a great first touch to lose his man and switch the ball out to Fish, who then plays the ball directly to Miller.
Overloading one side of the pitch, to quickly switch it to the other side is an example of the overload-to-isolate principle. You can see we again find Miller and Youan in a two-v-two on the right flank. It may look simple and not get a rapturous applause at Easter Road, but this is a solid foundation for exciting, quick, attacking football. Players taking risks, taking the ball under pressure, and then getting it to our front four in the final third of the pitch.
The front four and the main issues
Hibs' setup can mean the front four - the two wingers and two strikers - are often marked and receiving the ball with their back to goal and under pressure. If Hibs lose the ball in these situations, they are very open and susceptible to counter-attacks. One adaptation Montgomery has used in several games in a bid to get the wide players on the ball in better attacking areas has been pushing the full-backs inside the pitch and instructing the wingers to hug the touchline.
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With Jeggo dropping in between the centre-backs and pushing them wider, and Obita or Miller moving inside the pitch (inverting), it creates more space for the centre-backs to drive into, pushing the opponents back and allowing the wide players to get on the ball in the final third. Once inverted, the full-backs can make forward runs into the penalty area to receive the ball or act as a diversion to allow the wide players to go and attack the opposition full-backs. If the full-backs stay high and wide, then the wide players or strikers try to drop in between the opponent's defence and midfield to get on the ball - between the lines. Against St Johnstone, Rocky was able to drive forward and find Youan and Adam Le Fondre in areas where they can turn and attack the opposition.
Le Fondre is excellent at operating in those spaces between the lines. He drops deep and looks to link the play. Boyle and Youan move more centrally, where they can be more dangerous in front of goal. In the build-up to Youan’s first goal against Hearts, Le Fondre drops in during the build-up from the back, goes long to allow Dylan Vente to drop and combine with Newell, and attacks the penalty area when the ball goes wide to Obita before finally moving out to the left-hand side to support. Movement like this, coupled with his quick ability to play one or two touches in and around the penalty area (his assist for Vente against St.Johnstone for example) means that he offers something a little different to Christian Doidge.
When all the above clicks, it can be very difficult to play against. Against St Johnstone, Jeggo began to drop deeper as Hanlon stepped forward with the ball. Youan came deep, leaving space in behind. Hanlon fed the ball to Boyle, who played a quick one-two with Doidge before driving forward. Miller was high and wide and young Rory Whittaker came central, filling the spaces left by Boyle and Doidge. As the attack played out, Boyle slipped in Whittaker who, as we know, came oh-so-close to a debut goal.
I’ve been blown away by how quickly Montgomery has implemented various aspects of his game model. The team looked bereft of confidence early in the season and to see Hibs playing out from the back, taking risks in possession, and attacking in the style and manner they are after just five games is promising. The formation and style of play do come with drawbacks, but Montgomery has already shown he is willing to stick to his principles. I’m most intrigued by how he manages the squad on a game-by-game basis. He seems comfortable rotating the personnel (Rocky and Hanlon, for example) and I do think one of his most important jobs is managing the game time of Youan, Boyle, Vente and Le Fondre.
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There will be a big role for Dylan Levitt, who impressed off the bench against Hearts. Jeggo and Newell are covering a lot of ground and Levitt will be a welcome addition to the midfield, especially with his ability to play forward passes between the lines.
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