The basic template may be obvious but we've already seen since Nick Montgomery's arrival at Hibs that his preferred system is so much more than merely playing a Mike Bassett-endorsed four-four-two (ladies and gentlemen). Overlapping centre-backs, deep-lying centre-forwards, and inverted wingers are commonplace in his system. It's how he coaxes more and more out of his players without really deviating from the 442 that is intriguing.

With Christian Doidge and Adam Le Fondre unavailable, Montgomery has had to think outside the box with his centre-forward pairing. Recently Martin Boyle was partnered with Dylan Vente, with Élie Youan and Jair Tavares taking up the wide roles in the fluid front four. But with Boyle not risked for the trip to St Mirren after picking up a knock in the Viaplay Cup semi-final defeat by Aberdeen - he was named among the substitutes but remained on the bench - Montgomery had to get creative.

READ MORE - The Hibs overhaul so far: evaluating what has changed under Montgomery

He did this by deploying Josh Campbell in a hybrid second striker / roaming role tucked in behind Vente to create what was effectively a 4411 set-up - something he used on occasion at the Mariners.  Twelve minutes into that game, Campbell scored. Aside from Campbell's tailored position, Hibs played the same way they have since Montgomery's arrival: aggressively attacking full-backs, one midfielder dropping deep to create a back three with the centre-backs in possession, one forward dropping deep to support the midfield out of possession. 

With Boyle restored to the starting line-up and Youan rested for the visit of Kilmarnock, the expectation was that Montgomery would continue with the '4411 version' of his 442. Instead, it was more like a 4222 or 'box' formation, with a double pivot in Dylan Levitt and Joe Newell protecting the defence, and two attacking midfielders - Campbell and Tavares - supporting Boyle and Vente. It's a set-up that suits the current players available to Montgomery - the full-backs provide the attacking width, the centre-backs use the double pivot to play out from the back as well as breaking lines with passes to the attacking midfielders who are the primary creators  in the XI as well as linking the defence and double pivot to the attackers. 

How formation tweaks are reinvigorating players

Perhaps unsurprisingly it was Campbell and Tavares who topped the list for shots, with a combined total of five. The only other players to register an attempt on goal were Rocky Bushiri (off-target) and Dylan Vente (saved). 

But it's not just the tangible metrics. Tweaking the formation and giving Boyle a type of free role in the final third led to the Australian internationalist scoring an offside goal early on, and creating the winner with a determined run from just inside his own half. In between he had another central drive towards goal and was possibly unlucky not to see a challenge on him by Stuart Findlay at the very least reviewed by VAR. But crucially, it was his first league goal involvement since the 3-2 defeat by Livingston back in August that spelled the end for Lee Johnson. He bagged a brace in the Viaplay Cup quarter-final victory over St Mirren and saw a goal (eventually) ruled out for offside in the semi-final of the competition against Aberdeen. 

Boyle looked refreshed after being rested for the midweek draw against St Mirren; despite being named in the squad among the substitutes he was unused and going by his performance on Saturday, the rest did him and his knee a world of good - and the conversation between the Easter Road and Socceroos medical teams to thrash out an agreement that he wouldn't travel to Australia for the game against Bangladesh in Melbourne but would instead be available for the game against Palestine in Kuwait should mean that Montgomery isn't sweating over the player suffering burnout. But perhaps altering Boyle's role slightly might allow him to give more without overdoing it, at least until January when Hibs will be in a position to supplement their attacking options. 

Deep-lying Élie

Was it a surprise to see Élie Youan benched for the visit of Kilmarnock? Not particularly; I even suggested he might have been a candidate for the subs bench in Paisley, but Boyle's condition almost certainly rendered that decision moot and the 30-year-old remained an unused substitute while the Frenchman played and contributed to two goals - Hibs' second and, unfortunately, St Mirren's equaliser.

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But it was his substitute appearance against Kilmarnock that was interesting - because his average position was deeper than it has ever been under Montgomery. Most of Youan's average positions are, regardless of being on either flank or through the middle, well into opposition territory. Against Kilmarnock however, the former Nantes youngster was deployed such that his average position was actually closer to his own goal than midfielder Dylan Levitt or full-back Lewis Miller.

We've seen with Montgomery's 442 that he prefers one centre-forward to drop into midfield out of possession, to give the illusion of a five-man midfield. Often it will be Vente, but the Dutchman had been replaced just ten minutes into the second half by Youan - and because of the slightly different set-up, Youan was tasked with filling in on the right of a midfield four out of possession with Boyle and Campbell up top (seen in the image below). 

Interestingly enough, he made 18 passes in the second half, with only Bushiri making more. But in terms of his on-ball value (OBV) - that is, measuring players' contribution to the team outside of whether the possession had a shot at the end of it - he was relatively low, with just Newell having a lower OBV in the second half. Essentially if a player carries the ball from the touchline to the edge of the six-yard box, that action will be credited more highly than one that is less penetrative.

Youan registers second for Hibs overall in terms of combined OBV so far this season from players who have played at least 600 minutes of league football (his 2.95 per game is beaten only by Lewis Miller's 3.25 per game) but in terms of dribble and carry on-ball value (OBV-DC) he is the most valuable player in Montgomery's squad. 

READ MORE - The Hibs overhaul so far: evaluating what has changed under Nick Montgomery

He lost the ball out wide late on in Paisley, with his error eventually leading to Lewis Jamieson's late leveller for St Mirren. While it would possibly be a little unfair to point the finger of blame squarely at Youan, perhaps the decision to tweak his role against Kilmarnock indirectly contributed to Hibs seeing the game out despite a late onslaught from the visitors.

For all data is used in the modern game to study the minutiae of every game, is it possible that just nudging Youan into a different role helped Hibs to see out the game against Kilmarnock and put an end to their habit of drawing matches from winning positions? Not by putting him in a position where there was less chance of him making a mistake, but by utilising his strength - ball carrying and dribbling - to the benefit of the whole team. You can see how deep, and central, he is in the screengrab below, where the defensive-minded Jimmy Jeggo is actually further ahead of him. 

Given his mercurial nature, it is often uncertain what Youan is going to do next. Sometimes the player himself probably doesn't know. But if he's playing out wide, the opposition can be fairly sure that he will either likely cut inside if he's playing off the left, or try to hit the byline if he's on the right. But through the middle? It's anyone's guess - and maybe that's all it takes. 

Montgomery's system in its current form is getting the best out of Campbell who previously didn't look particularly suited to the 442 - and said as much after the St Mirren game - and also seems to be helping Boyle and Youan to contribute more while not relying on the two of them to make the team tick. The fluidity of that front four to either play as two wingers and two centre-forwards, or two centre-forwards and two attacking midfielders, or whatever is allowing the head coach to eke out as much as possible from what is a thin squad at the moment - and likely will be until January. 

Shaun Maloney had a particular way he wanted to play but lacked the players for it. Perhaps his inexperience showed when he tried to stick with it, despite mounting evidence suggesting he would perhaps be better off adapting his approach until he had the right players. Montgomery differs in that he has a style of play but is prepared to tweak it to accommodate certain players in certain games, or to cope with injuries, or simply to mix things up. It is still early in his tenure but so far, it seems to be paying off and as the players get more familiar with how he wants them to play, things should be a lot more seamless and that identity will be clear to see. It worked at Central Coast Mariners, there's no reason it can't work at Easter Road as well. 

Because after all; Hibs will be playing four-four-f*****g-two... sort of.