Hibs' top-six failure poses serious Nick Montgomery questions - but others can't be spared scrutiny behind cloak of transition

Leading 1-0 at Fir Park against Motherwell going into stoppage time, with Dundee drawing 0-0 at Aberdeen, Hibs would have gone a point clear in sixth place ahead of the Dees’ remaining pre-split match against Rangers on Wednesday. But as the clock struck 94 minutes, Motherwell chucked a throw-in into the box, Hibs could not clear it properly and the ball fell to Shane Blaney. The centre-half swung his left boot at it and the ball powered high past a despairing David Marshall. To be fair to the Irishman, it was a corker of a finish.

But just like in Paisley, Dingwall, and in the Christmas Edinburgh derby, and against Celtic and Ross County at home, Hibs lost a damaging late goal. This one had the most serious ramifications. Hibs will spend the remaining five games in the bottom six of the Premiership. Such a situation, as the manager bluntly admitted afterwards, is nothing but a failure for a club that has aspirations of so much more. It leaves Montgomery in a precarious position. While he only joined in September and is largely working with inherited players, improvement under his watch has been incremental at best. There have been no stand-out results since he arrived from Central Coast Mariners to replace Lee Johnson. A decent chunk of the fanbase is calling for change.

Motherwell are also consigned to the bottom six. They so nearly plucked a winner from nowhere just after Blaney’s howitzer, only for ex-Hibs striker Oli Shaw to prod wide from close range. In a match that was tarnished by windy conditions, the fare on offer confirmed that neither team really belongs in the upper half of the table.

Home manager Stuart Kettlewell, though, will not feel nearly as much as heat as Montgomery. With millions coming Hibs’ way this summer following the investment from Bournemouth’s American owner Bill Foley earlier this year, there will likely be robust discussions as to whether the 42-year-old Yorkshireman will be the man to spend them. Instead of home matches against Hearts and Rangers to look forward to, Aberdeen and the Steelmen will visit Easter Road. There is a financial cost of not reaching the top six as well as the sporting side of things. European football will not happen next term. That match against the Dons, between two complete underachievers in the league this term, will be a sobering affair.

From a Hibs perspective, director of football Brian McDermott and chief executive Ben Kensell will also have questions to answer. The club is at another crossroads, and has been living behind the cloak of transition for too long. Johnson, Shaun Maloney and Jack Ross have all been sacked since December 2021. But there also comes a point when managerial change happens too readily and too frequently. Montgomery has only had one transfer window to work with and has been dealt a rough hand by injuries and some debatable VAR calls, plus he picked up the guts of an imbalanced, malnourished squad that does not have enough leaders nor winners.

Clearly respected and liked by the squad, his philosophy on how the game should be played chimes with how Hibs want to be going forward. However, he has little credit in the bank from what has been displayed so far during his tenure, and he does not have years of top-level experience to fall back on, his successes coming with Mariners in the Australian A-League. There will be some serious soul-searching and conversations within Easter Road over the coming days.

One of the biggest issues recently at Hibs has been defence. Montgomery has simply not been able to make his Hibs team tough enough to survive late onslaughts. As the match wore on at Fir Park, there was always a chance that they would crack under pressure. Both sets of players sank to their knees at the end, the purple-clad Hibees left in purgatory waiting for confirmation of the scoreline at Pittodrie. Montgomery led his players over to the away fans behind the goal. More than 2800 made the trip along the M8 but most of them had left by the time the crestfallen squad presented themselves, applauding sheepishly. The scene had underachievement written all over it.

"Hibs, Hibs are falling apart,” sang the pocket of Motherwell ultras next to the away end, getting revenge for taunts from the visitors just moments earlier as they chanted Motherwell’s Twist And Shout anthem.

Nothing to shout about now. That sums up this match, in particular the wretched first half which – although it is important to state how difficult conditions were due to the wind. Elie Youan and Chris Cadden both had good chances for Hibs, while Marshall was almost caught out by a Blair Spittal cross that he clawed away from under his own crossbar. But other than that, the first 45 minutes were lamentable.

The second half improved. Hibs played with much more purpose and hemmed Motherwell in. Their moment came on 65 minutes when, following a corner kick, defender Will Fish was caught by Stephen O’Donnell in the box. Referee Willie Collum pointed to the spot and Myziane Maolida kept his cool and sent Liam Kelly the wrong way.

Hibs had chances to kill the game off on the counter as Motherwell pressed forward. The infuriating Youan wasted a good opportunity after being slipped through by Maolida, then Cadden had an effort from close range blocked. Centre-halves Fish and Rocky Bushiri repelled balls into their box as Motherwell went long in search of the leveller. It wasn’t enough.

Motherwell ended the match with four strikers on the pitch, but it was their Irish centre-half Blaney who put a sledgehammer through Hibs’ top-six hopes after Emi Marcondes’ tired headed clearance from a long throw-in. It now remains to be seen whether Montgomery – and perhaps others – will survive the fall-out of failing to make it.