Nick Montgomery talks up Scottish football after rival manager brands standard “shocking”
Nick Montgomery, the manager of Hibs, feels that Derek Adams, his counterpart from Ross County, may have shot himself in the foot with his amazing dissection of the Scottish game.
Returning to lead the Dingwall club for a third stint, Adams criticised his team after they lost to Dundee the previous weekend and went on to criticise the standard of football played north of the border. He called the Premiership standard “shocking,” claiming that his former team Morecambe was “100 times better” than his current charges despite having the lowest budget in League Two. “I came back here and thought, ‘Wow, any chance?'” after seeing the standard.
Many in the game have denounced the contentious claims, calling Montgomery’s outburst disrespectful. Montgomery, who hopes to highlight his team’s strengths and win at the Global Energy Stadium on Saturday, believes the outburst could come back to haunt the Highland team if they try to add players in January.
Although Montgomery said it was unlikely to affect most clubs’ recruitment, he cautioned that Ross County might not be so lucky. Montgomery was thinking about the potential reputational harm to the Scottish game caused by the manager of one of the nation’s top tier clubs painting such a bleak picture.
“It is unlikely that players will consider that unless they receive an offer to sign with Derek at Ross County. After hearing that, perhaps you wouldn’t want to go there.
“However, the league contains some excellent teams, and many players would undoubtedly want to travel to Scotland to play.” All you have to do is take a look at the teams in this league that participate in European competition and the Champions League.
“Playing in this league is not simple. To begin with, you must be physically capable. However, it’s a fantastic route that has been repeatedly demonstrated to lead to the world’s top leagues.
Though he believes there are better ways to persuade players to support any improvement project, Montgomery, who is working to establish an entertaining style of play at Hibs and enjoying the challenge of managing in a hotly contested league, may not agree with Adam’s post-match interview.
Every day, new managers are hired. One was me. Getting the players on board is the first step. Getting what you want implemented may take some time.
“Derek has obviously visited there a few weeks ago. And after losing at the last minute over the weekend, it was clear that he was extremely frustrated. I have experienced that. It isn’t polite. It raises an
“My heart goes out to Derek. It’s not pleasant; you have a lot of emotion. I was a player and am now a manager. He has the right to his own opinion, which is most likely the only one he has.
However, there are times when I say something and then, after the game, I realise that maybe I shouldn’t have said it. However, if you answer questions honestly while the camera is rolling, sometimes it will reflect well on you and other times it won’t. It’s possible that he won’t regret it. Although I can’t speak for him, I disagree with what he said. The standard is highly competitive, in my opinion.
Montgomery acknowledged that occasionally, but rarely, that could have an impact on the play’s calibre, drama or intensity.
A careless Dylan Levitt ball out from the back resulted in the lone goal, but Montgomery insisted that they cannot let that mistake undermine the effort they have been putting in.
It’s critical that players maintain their intelligence as players while adhering to the concepts you’ve worked on all week. They occasionally make mistakes and, for various reasons, things don’t always go as planned.
“I want players to be brave, and I will always say that.” It is not appropriate to alter course and discard all of our previous work simply because we had a poor performance or outcome.
“The weekend’s game was slow, which made me unhappy with its pace. That says something about me. However, the players also accept responsibility and put forth a lot of effort to achieve our goals.
Montgomery is focused on the future rather than the past even though they are about to play their fourth straight away game. With three games remaining before the winter break—the Motherwell and Ross County games and the 2023 final derby are positioned between them—it is hoped they can go into the temporary shutdown with a positive attitude.
Nine points would be nice, but nothing in this league is guaranteed; you have to work hard for every point because every team will fight for it.
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