Hibs boss has sharp response to 'unsettled' claims amid social media frenzy

Monty talks expectations ahead of top-six showdown

Monty sees the funny side of social media storm.

Nick Montgomery has laughed off social media chatter about him and his family not settling in Scotland. And the Hibs boss says he fully expects to be manager at the start of next season – even if the Easter Road outfit fall short in the current campaign.

In order to secure a place in the top six, Hibs must get a result at Fir Park tomorrow and hope that Dundee slip up at Pittodrie before the Dens Park side host Rangers – in Perth, potentially - in their much-delayed ‘penultimate’ pre-split fixture next Wednesday night. Failure to finish on the right side of the Scottish Premiership dividing line would reflect poorly on a manager who replaced Lee Johnson back in September.

But, reacting to crazy posts claiming that the Montgomery clan were missing Australia, the former Central Coast Mariners boss – and long-time Sheffield United player – laughed as he said: “I find that funny. I’m actually from Leeds, I spent a bit of time in Australia, and I made a decision to come here because it’s a big club, because of the challenge, because of the expectation and because of the pressure.

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“I don’t know where those stories come from. But obviously they’re completely not true. I’ve enjoyed my time here and I am enjoying every day here, I’m really proud to be manager of this club.

“People like to create noise; it picks up and carries legs. That’s the power of social media, I guess.

“I still expect to be here for the duration of my contract. I looked at this as a big picture. Looking at the future, I wanted to rebuild – and we’ve implemented a lot already this season.

“I expect to be here next season. We’ve had discussions about recruitment and there will be a lot of turnover. Looking at the number of players we have out of contract, there are obviously opportunities to bring players in. Hopefully the investment coming in will impact on the budget, as well. But, as ever, that will be affected by where the club finishes in the table.

“Those discussions will always come at the end of the season. It’s hard to know beforehand what everything will look like.”

Insisting he hadn’t talk to directors specifically about his own position, Montgomery said: “I’m in constant communication with the board. I go to board meetings and there’s been a lot over the last couple of months, with the investment coming in.

“During the last couple of months, we’ve been discussing recruitment because there’s a chance there will be a lot of change during the summer. Right now, I know the importance for the club of finishing in that top six and hitting those targets.”