Every word from Nick Montgomery Hibs Q&A ahead of Celtic

Would it be wrong to assume Lewis Miller comes straight back in to the team?

“Lewis will come back in. I think it would be a massive ask for a 16-year-old to back up two games in the space of a few days, so Lewis will come back in nice and refreshed, off the back of scoring the winner.  He also got a really harsh second yellow card – but that’s part of the learning curve for Lewis, because the first yellow card is just for a silly altercation that wasn’t his fault. But I said to him after the game, that was the reason he got sent off. That is something that Lewis needs to learn. He’s growing in confidence and he’s a powerful boy, so we’re looking forward to getting him back in the squad.   I think Rory has just about recharged his legs from the weekend.  

Lewis was really good against Celtic last time...

"Against the big teams, in games where you really have to concentrate, I think as a player it’s strangely easier to do that.  Lewis was excellent against Celtic last time, and he definitely enjoys playing against them.  Hopefully he comes back in nice and fresh. With the amount of games coming in the next few weeks, it’s definitely a benefit to be ale to freshen players up and still get results.  On the weekend, we had to change the two fullbacks, which is definitely disruptive. But Lewis Stevenson came in and I thought he was outstanding. Rory, for a 16-year-old, to put in a performance like he did in a very, very tough game, that bodes well for him in the future, because he’s a massive talent. 

Do you cut Lewis some slack for the second booking? 

“I did cut him some slack because he scored, and we won the game! But, as a manager sometimes, you can’t legislate for a second yellow like that. Possibly it was a free-kick but the only intent was to get the ball, there was no lunge or anything. It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve looked at it, it was definitely harsh. But I’m not the referee. The ref decides it. But, again, if he doesn’t get the first yellow after arguing with an opposition player, that moment doesn’t happen. And he’s still on the pitch. Obviously the positive is Rory steps in against Aberdeen, in a very tough game, and makes a good home debut. There’s always a positive to every negative.  

Is it easy to forget Lewis is still quite young, too?

“Look, he’s still learning. At 23, he made his debut at 18 or 19 so he’s a late bloomer, and he’s still young enough to learn. Because you keep learning your own career.  That can be if you’re 23 or 33. David Marshall is still learning. You saw how much improvement he’s made this year, with the way that we play, and he never stops learning.  Lewis is a massive talent. But it’s about him concentrating for 90, 95 minutes. That’s the biggest task with Lewis. He’ll definitely learn from that sending off because that hurt him. He was devastated. But now he’s back in, it’s a good opportunity to play against Celtic again.” 

Don’t want to take that confrontational side of his game away from him? 

“That’s something that frustrates me about Lewis, because when he’s doing that he’s not concentrating on the game. I love his passion and mentality to wanting to win, but it’s something he needs to cut out, and he accepts that. Hopefully, that sending off will help him learning. Maybe we should just gag his mouth!

Do you subscribe to the idea that these games are a free hit?

“I don’t subscribe to that. At Ibrox, we actually played really well but just gave away some shocking goals. The whole occasion for them – new manager coming in – it was one of those games. We still had enough chances to get back in it, but our execution wasn’t good enough and we lost. 1-0 or 4-0, it makes no difference, we lost the game. Going to Celtic Park, it’s not a free hit. We will go there looking to get a result, but we’re realistic and know it’s a very hard place to go. We’re in a good place, we feel we’re progressing well. The togetherness we showed at the weekend, that shows we’ve come a long way. But I definitely don’t go with it being a free hit – it’s 11v11. Yeah, the odds are stacked against you and we’re definitely the underdog, but you’ve seen many times in sport that the underdog can come through and get the result.

There's been a perception that teams going to Celtic Park are beaten before kick-off, do you see any of that in your team?

“No, I don’t feel that. The boys go out every week [with belief]. Even the times we’ve had to come from behind, I don’t feel they’ve lacked belief that they can get a result. There’s a lot of media talk about stuff like that, so I’m sure some players do get it in their head. But, as a coach, you have to go out every week and give the team that belief to play, and that they can get results. Playing against the Old Firm, no doubt that’s something that’s been around for a long time, but the reality is you’re talking two teams with huge budgets and very good squads. And it’s not just the players who start, you only have to look at the bench to see the depth of both of those teams, and it tells you it’s going to be a tough game.

Is depth the big difference with teams like Celtic?

“Yeah, you’re talking top class players starting, on the bench, and even sitting in the stand. That’s the competition they have, and it’s why they play Champions League football, European football every season. You have to embrace that, but it’s definitely good for them to bring on players at 60/70 minutes and keep their tempo and aggression. Celtic did that against us at home, but we stood strong, were disciplined for 95 minutes, and we came out with a point. It’s a big task tomorrow but we’ll give everything we’ve got to give a good account of ourselves.

You mentioned David Marshall earlier, what does it say about him that he is still willing to learn, even at 37?

"It says he has a growth mindset, enjoys football, and understands football. You are not going to get anyone more experienced and more humble than David Marshall. From the moment I came in and Miguel started working with him he has been receptive to everything e wanted to do. It was a lot different from what he was doing previously but that’s an example that no matter what age you are, if you are willing to adapt and buy in what the manager wants, it shows what can happen. He is a calm head and, for me, he still has plenty of time left because he is a goalkeeper and they are  not running 10-15k a game. That is the last thing they want to do. He is a great guy and at the weekend he deserved that performance because he has been fantastic for me from the moment I walked in the door.

Would you ever consider parking the bus against Celtic?

"That’s not me. That’s not how I see the game but there is no doubt that we will have to park the bus at times. There will be times when the goal is under threat and we have got a lot better at blocking shots and crosses. Celtic are a team with a lot of mobility and players who are good on the ball and have good movement so there will be times when we are defending deep and we will have to park the bus but when we have the ball, we are going to try to get at Celtic when we can. We know we have pace to hurt every team in the competition, and we have to be careful and make sure that when we have the ball we don’t turn it over cheaply. They are a team that are very good in possession and they are more than happy to keep the ball so we have to defend for our lives against Celtic, against Aberdeen, against St Mirren. It doesn’t matter who you’re playing against, there are times when you are going to be under pressure, and you have to dig in and defend the ball with everything you’ve got. That will happen at periods through the game.

Given the way your team plays, would you want Celtic to press you?

"They are going to be aggressive.  I am not Brendan Rodgers, so so maybe they will want to press high, maybe they will let us have the ball, but we can only identify that in the game and make sure we will be set for whatever we need to do. We will definitely play the way we have been playing - at times we play direct and sometimes we play out from the back.

READ MORE: How Hibs can challenge Celtic: Set-plays and competitiveness

It is up to the players to realise when to do that during the game, and execute the right decision. That is why you train so that when you come to the big stadiums and the big pressure environments you can remain calm and stick to the game plan.  No doubt they will be aggressive. They are at home and they will want to win the game and it is up to us to try to make that hard for them.