Hibs hope Wales U21 star can solve defensive crisis - transfer latest

Monty hits back at 'too easy' jibes - and works to strengthen back line

The clock is ticking - Montgomery has until Thursday night to bolster his squad.

Nick Montgomery believes the arrival of Wales Under-21 central defender Owen Bevan before Thursday’s transfer deadline could be the missing piece needed to transform the season for Hibs. But the blunt Yorkshireman has hit back at accusations that his team are too soft to compete against the Scottish Premiership’s most hardened battlers.

Montgomery takes Hibs to Rugby Park – venue of his first match as gaffer back in September – tomorrow afternoon. With a number of new faces already giving the manager more options in midfield and up front, he knows that the current defensive crisis must be addressed before the transfer window closes.

Although Paul Hanlon is recovered from illness and ready to play tomorrow, allowing Jordan Obita to return to left back after filling in at centre-half against Rangers, a central defender is the No. 1 priority. Especially with Rocky Bushiri’s Democratic Republic of Congo through into the knockout stages of AFCON.

And the Evening News can reveal that Bournemouth defender Bevan, who has spent the first half of this season on loan at Cheltenham Town, is the man Monty wants to land before the January window closes. The 20-year-old has come highly recommended by one of the manager's most reliable contacts in the game - and Hibs are now trying to secure a deal that would bring the promising prospect north on a long-term deal.

Revealing that he is close to getting his preferred target for a problem position, Montgomery said: “It is someone we have been looking at a while when we have a list of potentials.  This is a live one that we are really confident that we can bring in and can help us from now until the end of the season.”

Laying out the criteria he and director of football Brian McDermott had used to filter potential signings to play alongside ever-present Will Fish at the heart of the back four, Monty said: “He has got to be comfortable on the ball, he has got to be athletic and fit into the way that we play. It is my first time to recruit players to the club so it is always important to try and recruit the type of players that can sustain the way you want to play.

“Unless you pay a big transfer fee it is hard to find someone who has been playing week in week out. It is a player who has had quite a few games this season. I cannot say much more than that - but we are really hopeful we can bring him in next week.”

Montgomery did confirm that he’s looking to land his man on a permanent deal, rather than a loan, saying: “That is something we have been discussing. The big picture is that we want players - and we need players for next season. To get players in now gives them a good six months to get them up to speed and then a pre-season, which I did not have this season, and an opportunity to bring them in for the long term. 

“It is good to have a couple of loans like we have brought in because it is very hard to sign the quality players that we have in Myziane (Maolida) and Emiliano (Marcondes) on full contacts. It is always a different situation for every player. That is something we will work out in the next week.”

Anticipating a typically combative clash against Killie, the former Central Coast Mariners boss railed against pundits branding his team soft. Aware that fans will be looking for a reaction to Wednesday night’s disappointing 3-0 home loss to a rampant Rangers, Monty said: “We’re really stretched at the minute in terms of what we have available - but I don’t think we’re too easy to play against.

“We went through a period where we had a lot of clean sheets and good results, and if you look at the team then compared to now it’s very different with so many players out. Yeah, we want to be harder to play against but sometimes that’s putting your opportunities away at the other and punishing teams when you’re on top.

“We don’t want to concede goals, especially soft goals, so we’re working on it all the time. It’s a question that I think any manager would answer the same. We want to be tougher to play against and we’re trying everything to make sure that we are.”

Returning to Rugby Park gives Montgomery a chance to reflect on the work done in four months, the former Scotland Under-21 international insisting: “I think there has been a lot of progress on and off the field. I came in after a pre-season and with the team near the bottom of the league. There’s been highs and lows, which I expected.

“Right now, we’ve been in a bit of a mini-rebuild in this window, and there will be more rebuilding into the summer. Most teams go through these transitions, but I feel firmly bedded in.

“I know the expectations at this club, I knew the challenge when I took the job on. It’s never an easy challenge coming into a big club with big expectations.

“That’s why it’s important that the players I bring in understand this is a club with high expectations. The big picture is hopefully with the Bournemouth investment and the rebuild of the squad.

“People talk about the style of play, but the style is the reason why we had four or five opportunities to score against Rangers the other night. Had we taken those chances, the game could have been different.

“We know that, as a team, we need to stop conceding soft goals at times. But, to me, that’s not down to the style of play, that’s key moments. With the size of the squad and players we’ve had missing, it’s been hard to have strength in depth and competition for places. The performances have been mostly good, bar one or two.

“But that’s what you get over a season, and results will always be scrutinised. I think the performances have deserved more points, and we’ll continue to work and adapt with the new players coming in. Over the next few weeks, they’ll bed into the system and people will be able to see the quality of player we’ve brought in."