Monty’s underdogs ready to bite in biggest challenge of coaching career

Celtic at Easter Road the pinnacle for new Hibs boss

Nick Montgomery was all smiles at training yesterday.

Hibs boss Nick Montgomery is relishing the biggest challenge of his coaching career as he welcomes Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic to Easter Road.

And the former Central Coast Mariners boss believes the underdog spirit he generated at the shock A-League winners can be replicated in Edinburgh – allowing his players to compete against the very best teams in Scotland.

“Celtic are one of the best teams I have coached against, for sure,” said Montgomery.

“You only need to see them midweek when they were playing against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.

“For me, this is a great opportunity to go up against a very, very good coach in Brendan Rodgers, who has had a lot of success in the Premier League and in the SPFL as well. It’s something I’m definitely looking forward to - and I can’t wait for the game. I’m relishing it.

“I’m a young coach, I had success overseas with a very young team and a really small budget - and it is no different here in terms of playing the big teams. You know that they have a lot of quality in strength and depth, but those are the games where you want to test yourself.

“As a player, I loved playing in the big games and, as a coach, when I came to this club, these were the games that everyone talked about - and for me it is something I’m looking forward to.”

Montgomery, who tuned into Celtic’s 2-2 home draw against Diego Simeone’s Atletico on Wednesday night, insisted he hadn’t spent the evening worrying about his own team’s chances of stopping the Hoops, saying: “No. They are a top quality team and Brendan has done a fantastic job with them since Ange (Postecoglou) left.

“They are playing some fantastic football, and they are very attack minded - but they also conceded two goals.

“This weekend it isn’t Celtic Park, we are at Easter Road, in front of our fans and our family, and we are really looking forward to that atmosphere. It is a good game for us.”

Montgomery led Central Coast to an improbable A-League title despite having the smallest budget in the entire competition, so he’s more than comfortable in the role of underdog.

The Englishman, looking to bounce back from last weekend’s 4-0 defeat to Rangers at Ibrox, said he hopes to instil some of that Mariners spirit in the squad at Hibs in due course, insisting: “I think a lot of it is transferable.

“But I have only been here five or six weeks so, in terms of what I have implemented, there has been a lot of change in the way that we play, a lot of information, a lot of tactical information and individual stuff as well.

“But in terms of the mindset, that is something that happens over a period of time. It won’t happen overnight - but all credit to the boys in terms of buying into the way we want to play.

“We have to be a lot better in defensive actions which let us down last week. But in terms of mindset in games against the bigger teams, you have to go in as the underdogs and try to give everything you’ve got.

“Ultimately, it is 11 v 11 so the game is winnable for either team. And it is always good to be the underdog.”