Hibs boss Nick reacts to Ross County postponement – disappointment’

Waterlogged pitch in Dingwall leads to wasted journey to Highlands for Hibs squad

Despite agreeing that his players “should be fresh” for the Edinburgh derby, Hibs boss Nick Montgomery expressed regret over the postponement of the clinching Premiership match at Ross County on Saturday.

Following heavy rain in the Highlands overnight and further severe weather anticipated throughout the day, a pitch inspection was called at 10 a.m. at the Global Energy Stadium, and a statement was made 30 minutes later that the match had been called off due to a waterlogged surface. It meant a wasted flight and overnight stay for the Hibs team, who were already in Dingwall after coming up the previous night, while the club was expecting a travelling support of about 1,000 fans, many of whom had already begun their trek north

Hibs now have a free weekend before the keenly anticipated capital showdown with Hearts at Easter Road on Wednesday night, although Montgomery claimed he would have loved to play. “We’re going back now and training tomorrow, adapting the session a little bit,” Hibs’ manager said to the Edinburgh Evening News. “However, the boys are extremely disappointed because they were fully prepared for the game.” You never know what would have happened if the game had been played today on a heavy pitch. So, we should be fine (for the derby). But the boys don’t want to play games; they want to finish it today. We have a tiny squad, but it is still rather thin. So we do our best to prepare.

“We had our breakfast this morning and knew the rain had been pretty heavy through the night. Then we got a notification that the referee was going to go and inspect the pitch at ten o’clock. To be honest, it already sounded like there was a bit of water in one of the goal mouths, which was an issue. Around nine thirty, we heard about the pitch inspection. Obviously it’s disappointing because you do the preparation, the travel and the overnight stay. But that’s out of our control. As much as we’re disappointed about it, these things happen.”