Nick Montgomery fronts up the Hibs trait he needs to add + why it couldn't happen in January transfer window

Hibs manager Nick Montgomery applauds the supporters after Hibs' 4-0 defeat by Aberdeen at Easter Road.

Hibs suffered another brutal blow on Sunday in a 4-0 loss against Aberdeen.

Nick Montgomery admits Hibs need to add leadership with a dose of quality as the Easter Road side stumble towards the end of the season.

The boss watched his side fall to a brutal 4-0 loss in front of their home fans against Aberdeen on Sunday. For the fans that remained inside the ground after full-time, boos rang out and Montgomery was questioned on his future post-match.

There are two more Premiership matches against Motherwell and Livingston to come before this season ends, with the team in ninth currently. A summer transfer window is upcoming and the boss insists leadership is something that this current squad needs, but it wasn’t an option in January. An overhaul will commence but he is keen to stress that it is quality that Hibs need rather than the bloated numbers the squad currently holds right now.

Montgomery said: “That’s a question that has been asked all season. We had some players with good experience on the pitch today, but January is not a time to bring leaders in because no-one lets them go then.

“And if you are going to be signing players in January they are going to cost a lot of money and you are going to have to put them on multiple year contracts.

“Moving forward we need a bit more leadership but we also need quality in key areas. It’s quality over quantity because there are a lot of contracted players at the club. Moving forward, we need more leadership. But we also need more quality in key areas. It’s quality over quantity.

“We need a strong starting team and bench. That can get us where we need to be. Some young players have done well this season but results can overshadow that at times.”

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He added: “The players are hurting in there and I’m hurting as a manager. We lost that game on not doing the basics well. We were chasing it in the second half and it wasn’t good enough.

“The players are dejected and the frustration of the fans is difficult to play with and helps the other team as well.”