'I turned down other clubs for Hibs' - says former Sheffield United favourite Nick Montgomery

The former Blades midfielder arrives from Central Coast Mariners, who he led to the A-League title last season.

The Leeds-born former Scotland Under-21 international has signed a three-year contract.

The 41-year-old was on a shortlist of five contenders but he was the only name to emerge publicly during the recruitment process.

Montgomery initially moved to Mariners as a player in 2012 after his long spell with Sheffield United.

He has been captain, assistant coach, youth coach and head of football at the club before taking over as head coach in August 2021.

Montgomery led Mariners to their second A-League Grand Final success with the help of a hat-trick from former Hibs striker Jason Cummings in a 6-1 triumph over Melbourne City in June.

He said: “I will try to bring a new identity to the club, and that’s not easy to do, but with hard work on the training ground and the buy-in from the staff, the players, the fans and the community, I really want to push this club forward and just bring a real work ethic and a good style of play that people will enjoy watching.

“An identity is something the fans can come and enjoy, a team with a lot of energy that likes to score goals.”

The former Scotland Under-21 and Scotland B international added: “The squad is really good, I have done a lot of research on the squad. I know some of the players, I actually played with Davie Marshall a long time ago.”

Montgomery was keen to return to the United Kingdom and when asked why he had chosen Hibs, he said: “Number one, my grandma was born in Scotland, I played for the Under-21s and Futures squad. I have a lot of history with Scotland.

“I felt it was the perfect club to come to, a club that is not where it should be in terms of the start of the season but that’s now my responsibility to put belief in the players and create an environment where everyone comes in every day and enjoys training and buy into the long-term vision to make Hibs successful.

“I had quite a bit of interest previously and as soon as I spoke to Hibs, it just felt in my gut instinct it was the right opportunity.

“We talked in depth about football, the club and where it wanted to go and that matched my ambition.”

Montgomery earned a reputation for developing young players in Australia. The players he worked with include recent Aberdeen signing James McGarry, Hibs full-back Lewis Miller, Kye Rowles of Hearts and former Tynecastle loan striker Garang Kuol.

“I think it’s central to most clubs around the world,” he said. “A lot of clubs develop players that will hopefully earn money in transfers because that’s how you help the club become sustainable. That’s the narrative we had in Australia, we became a club known for developing our own players, but not only our own players.”

Hibs director of football Brian McDermott said: “I’ve followed Nick’s career for a number of years. As a player, he was a leader and he’s brought that quality into his managerial and coaching career. What he’s done as a coach is really impressive.

“He helped rebuild what is now a successful academy and did a magnificent job of bringing through and developing young players. Alongside this, he has incredibly strong coaching credentials.

“He has a real strong, distinctive style of play, is a front-foot manager, and what he achieved at Central Coast Mariners last season was phenomenal.

“He created a strong relationship and camaraderie between the supporters, players and staff, and he’s an excellent man manager which has seen him get the best out of the players he’s worked with.

“Everyone has bought into him as a person and as a coach. We look forward to working with him and bringing successful times to this fantastic football club.”

Montgomery will bring assistant manager Sergio Raimundo and goalkeeping coach Miguel de Oliveira Miranda with him to work alongside existing first-team coach David Gray.

Gray led Hibs to a 2-0 win at Aberdeen in his sole cinch Premiership game as caretaker manager after Lee Johnson paid the price for losing the first three league games of the season.

Johnson was appointed Fleetwood manager on Sunday, replacing former Hibs midfielder Scott Brown.