THE goalless draw against Dundee on Saturday may not have been the result that Hibs wanted, but the fact the fans clapped them off the park regardless at Easter Road is a sign that Nick Montgomery has them moving in the right direction on the pitch.
The new Hibs manager has clearly made quite the impression with the Hibs support since his arrival in Edinburgh, but off the pitch, the impact on his players has been just as notable. According to Lewis Stevenson, who has counted in and counted out more than his fair share of Hibs head coaches, he has shifted the whole mindset of the club.
Montgomery has had famed motivational speaker Watt Nicoll in to speak to his men as he looks to instil a winning, ‘big club’ mentality into his group, and into a Scottish football institution that has long been as renowned for its flakiness and a flair for shooting themselves in the foot as it has for anything else.
"It's not just on the pitch where there's tactical changes,” Stevenson said.
“Off the pitch there's been a mentality shift and an attitude shift that he's really pushed and that will stand us in good stead for times to come.
“He came in and saw a few issues that needed sorted, and he's sorted them early doors. We've all bought into it, and even at 35 years old it's good to keep things fresh and learn from new managers and I've really enjoyed it since he came in.
"I don't want to give anything away, there's some things I need to keep in-house. But it's things that might not seem that big like attitude shifts and mentality shifts that needed changed.
“It's raising the standards - if we want to be a big club we have to act like a big club. Little things that go a long way, but I don't want to give too much away.
“We had Watt Nicoll in the other day and gave us a really good speech. He's a really good motivational speaker and he spoke for ages, it was really enjoyable. Everyone bought into it and that's the way you need to go.
“This is getting a bit deep, but it's working and everyone's buying into it and hopefully the fans can see it on the pitch.
"I've been surprised [by his impact]. He's been here such a short amount of time but you notice the difference in the team already. I'm sure you guys can see it on the pitch already.
“He wants us to be a big club and he wants us to win every game but there's little tactical changes we can tweak every game and I've been really impressed with how switched-on it's been."
On the field, the attacking intent wasn’t rewarded at the weekend with goals, but it seems that Hibs matches under Montgomery’s stewardship will make for exciting viewing at both ends of the pitch.
"He wants us to attack all the time, he wants us to win every game,” Stevenson said.
“We put a lot of men forward and I've never had a 0-0 at Easter Road where the fans have actually stayed to clap us off the pitch!
“So, I think they showed that they like what they see, and it is an exciting brand of football, but I thought Dundee came to play as well and had a few chances and for the neutral, probably a good 0-0 to watch."
There is now the small matter of the Edinburgh derby next weekend to look forward to for Hibs, with their city rivals also showing some signs of a revival after a tricky start to the season.
"It is a big one next week but I'm sure that will take care of itself when it comes,” he said.
“Hearts obviously won at the weekend but I've been involved in a lot of derbies and the form book does kind of go out the window. It's all about who performs on the day.
“If we can keep a solid base, we've got enough attacking threat that can go and change the game and score goals for us."
