What Nick Montgomery said to two-goal hero before Hibs turnaround v Hearts

Monty demanded more from Youan - and got his response

Derby day - Montgomery on the touchline at Tynecastle

Nick Montgomery hailed double goal scorer Elie Youan as a Champions League level talent – after giving the Hibs winger just 10 minutes to prove his worth following a half-time dressing down.

The new Hibs boss admitted he’d given his entire team a talking to as they went in 1-0 down against Hearts at Tynecastle.

Despite seeing the home side double their lead early in the second half, Monty watched with satisfaction as his team – inspired by Youan’s two goals in as many minutes – came back to secure a draw.

Revealing what he’d said to Youan, in particular, the Yorkshireman said: “I gave him ten minutes. And he showed me the reaction I wanted. He stood up big.

“Look, Elie is a fantastic player and he could play at a higher level, no doubt.

“But he has to be more consistent - and I told him that at half time.

“I needed more from him because he is a player who can win you games of football - and I thought his reaction in the second half was good.

“But he wasn’t on his own. There were too many who weren’t good enough in the first half and Elie was one of them - but I asked him to step up and he did.

“He scored two goals. But we need that from him for 90 minutes and not just 45.

“If the game was only 45 minutes he would be playing in the Champions League.

Youan strikes to salavage a point

“That is something Elie has to face. He is a young player with bags of ability and that is normal. Sometimes it takes a couple of years to really get that consistency but there is no doubting his ability.

“He is a fantastic player, he is a good lad and it is about managing. The second half he reacted really well - and I am really happy for him that he got two goals and we go away with a deserved point in the end.”

On the overall performance on a day of incessant rain and relentless drama, Montgomery said: “It was definitely a good outcome in the end.

“I thought they were a lot better than us in the first half but in the second half we were the better team.

“I was very disappointed in the first half and the way we played - and I told them that it wasn’t good enough.

“We talked about the emotion of the game during the week, but I think a few too many got caught out with that emotion and they dealt with it better.

“But they are at home, it’s a derby and they landed on every second ball.

“We were a little bit slow to move the ball in the first half and, although it was really wet, the grass seemed long and the ball wasn’t moving as quick as we expected - but we took too many touches and turned the ball over cheaply.

“That is something we’ve not done in the last couple of weeks, so I was disappointed with that.

“I told them in the second half they had to go out there and fix it - and I thought they did.

“Their second goal came against the run of play but, even at 2-0, I felt we could get back in the game - and at the end of the game we had a couple of chances.

“Both goalkeepers had some good saves, there was some desperate defending from both teams, there were frantic periods in the game and the fans of both teams were great.

“I am definitely happy with the end outcome - but I wasn’t happy with the first half.”

Providing an update on the injury that saw veteran goalkeeper David Marshall limp out of action late on, with Max Boruc taking his place, Montgomery said: “He’s ok.

“He took a goal kick and cramped up. He took no risk and it was a good chance for young Max to come on and keep a clean sheet.

“He didn’t really have much to do but that will be a big moment for him and he’ll learn from that experience.

“The last thing you want is your number one goalkeeper going off with ten or 15 minutes to go in a derby. David has been fantastic for me since I came in.

“If he’s going to get a little niggle, it’s probably now. We have two weeks to get him ready for Ibrox.”