Hibs have a problem with wingers, and no obvious quick-fix

Prior to Saturday’s trip to Ibrox, Nick Montgomery was adamant; bullish even, that he wouldn’t be altering his approach or message to his players despite Philippe Clement's side presenting, on paper at least, the sternest test for the new regime at Easter Road. Delivering his post-match thoughts after a chastening 4-0 defeat in which Hibs were the architects of their own downfall and mustered just one shot on target from Dylan Vente in the first half, there was a marked absence of a similar refrain. Instead it was about treating the 90 minutes as a ‘learning curve’, and hoping that his players would grow as a team as a result of a difficult encounter.

When the head coach addresses the media this week ahead of Celtic’s visit to the Capital on Saturday, it will be interesting to see if the manner of the defeat in Glasgow has changed his mind on any elements of his approach.

READ MORE - Hibs transition struggles, lack of Ibrox threat and alarming shots conceded

A home match is a different beast to an away game but the opposition is of a similar quality. Hibs cannot afford to be as porous in defence as they were against the Gers but they also need much more from their front four - assuming Montgomery keeps faith with his version of a 442. 

The main issues - balancing strong starting XI with options off the bench

As things stand, with the squad available to him, Montgomery deploys Martin Boyle and Élie Youan on the flanks, and has one of Christian Doidge or Adam Le Fondre partnering Dylan Vente at centre-forward in his fluid front four. While these are arguably Hibs’ strongest players for the relevant positions, it means there is little scope for change off the bench when the team is in need of a spark - something we highlighted from the defeat at Ibrox. 

One unknown is Jair Tavares. The Portuguese winger came off the bench against Rangers and in terms of his on-ball value (OBV), which StatsBomb uses to evaluate player actions during a match and how they can positively or negatively impact the match’s outcome, outperformed both Boyle and Youan during his time on the pitch.

Having struggled last season, Tavares has been given a fresh start by the new management team at Easter Road and notched a goal in the 3-0 bounce-game victory over a Sunderland XI at the Academy of Light on Monday. But while he performs well in reserve matches and bounce games, and in training, it feels like too big an ask at the moment for him to come on and positively impact a result. With Sérgio Raimundo’s language skills and a shared background at Benfica Tavares - who was always viewed as a longer-term signing but not marketed as such - could blossom this season, but it’s early days yet and we may have to wait. 

Beyond that… there’s not much. Montgomery said himself that he had ended up playing Rory Whittaker out of position during his first appearances in the team, partly to avoid placing too much pressure on him in defence. Ostensibly a right-back, the 16-year-old played wide left and right during his first two games against St Johnstone and St Mirren. Jordan Obita was touted as a potential attacking option by Lee Johnson but the former Wycombe man appears to have nailed down the left-back role for now. Dan MacKay, who would be an obvious candidate at least as back-up, is on loan at Livingston for the season with the West Lothian side having an option to buy the former Inverness Caledonian Thistle man.

It’s clear to see why Montgomery is so keen to have Chris Cadden and Harry McKirdy back fit, with both able to play out wide and the latter a prime candidate for one of those fluid front four roles that switch between wide and central. Cadden almost certainly lacks the flexibility to moonlight as a centre-forward in the current system but given Montgomery’s predilection for switching positions up in a bid to change games - see Paul Hanlon replacing Rocky Bushiri or vice-versa, with the two defenders differing in their approach on the ball with Hanlon overlapping down the flank and Bushiri coming central - having two players operating as out-and-out wingers feeding one or two centre-forwards would be a way of changing things up without moving to an entirely different tactical set-up. The former Central Coast Mariners man has already shown a steely determination to stick to one base game plan and help his players improve in it, so it would be a surprise to see him abandoning it in for something else at this early stage. 

Isn’t there someone in the academy like Rory Whittaker ready to step up?

The short answer is no. Hibs didn’t often play with out-and-out wingers during the title-winning under-18 season, often preferring a 352 set-up, so there are no obvious candidates ready to step into the first-team squad.

Malek Zaid has been training with the first team on occasion recently but it feels a bit too soon for the Libyan attacker to make the step up. Left-back Oscar MacIntyre can play further forward but needs the regular game time he’s getting at Queen of the South, and Emmanuel ‘EJ’ Johnson is on loan at Austin FC II in the MLS Next Pro league in the USA. Beyond that, Harry Wright - son of Easter Road favourite Keith - has been playing as a right-winger the under-18s and, on occasion, the development squad, but the 17-year-old has struggled with injury so far this season and is another who is some way away from first-team involvement. 

What about January recruitment?

Perhaps the main issue for Montgomery is that the January transfer window is still a little over two months away, although you can bet Brian McDermott and the recruitment team will already be scouring the market for wide options. Something else to consider is that, come January-February, Hibs are likely to be without Martin Boyle as a result of his participation in the AFC Asian Cup with Australia, while Lewis Miller could also be on Socceroos duty and if Cadden is back fit by then, will surely be tasked with playing right-back, and thus leaving Hibs short-handed on the flanks.

Montgomery brought in no fewer than six wingers when he was Mariners boss - some from other teams in the A-League, and others from elsewhere, with Raimundo’s knowledge of Portugal possibly coming in hand with the recruitment of Marco Túlio from Sporting CP’s B team and Ángel Torres who came through Porto’s youth system before joining third-tier side FC Alverca before a brief stint in Malta precluded his arrival in New South Wales. 

McDermott’s contacts and the work undertaken by the recruitment department, plus Raimundo and Montgomery’s links should make the January window interesting - particularly when considering the importance McDermott places on character, and Montgomery and Raimundo’s track record of plucking players from relative obscurity and helping them blossom.

What happens next?

For now though, Hibs are in a bit of a bind when it comes to wide options. It will be interesting to see how Tavares progresses over the coming weeks, but the coaching staff may have to look to other positions on the pitch in a bid to get the most out of their wide men, in what will effectively be a quick fix until January. It would be a surprise to see Montgomery repeat the mistakes made by Shaun Maloney in trying to shoehorn players into positions they didn't quite suit and for that reason the reaction to Saturday's defeat, in which his 442 ultimately failed to return a result for the first time since his arrival, will be fascinating to watch unfold.