Earlier today, Nick Montgomery was confirmed as the new Head Coach of Hibernian FC. With over 500 appearances as a player, featuring in the English Premier League, Championship and League One for Sheffield United before seeing out his career in Australia and transitioning into management, football has forever been a part of Nick Montgomery’s life.
Born in Leeds, England, Montgomery spent his early footballing years at Leeds United from the age of 10, before being offered his first football scholarship at Sheffield United in 2000 – a place where Montgomery would call home for the next 12 years.
After impressing for the reserve team in midweek, the teenager was awarded his First Team debut in October 2000, under Manager at the time – Neil Warnock.
That was the first of 398 appearances in red and white for the Blades, stretching 14 years which saw the defensive midfielder achieve promotion to the English Premier League in 2005/06, and becoming the Club’s record appearance holder of the 21st century.
Towards the end of his time at Bramall Lane, Montgomery had a short spell at Millwall – which was cut short due to injury – before swapping Sheffield for a new adventure in Australia, joining Central Coast Mariners in the summer of 2012.
Montgomery committed another four years of his playing career to the Central Coast Mariners, winning the A-League Championship in 2012/13 and being given the captaincy the following season. In 2016, after making 116 appearances for the New South Wales outfit, Montgomery hung up his boots to take up a position within the Club’s coaching set-up.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Montgomery completed his UEFA Pro Licence coaching certificate and made a lasting impact on the Central Coast Mariners Academy structure.
It was here, that Montgomery first worked with Sérgio Raimundo – Hibs’ new Assistant Head Coach - in a coaching capacity, bringing the Portuguese man in to help rebuild the Academy and implement a new game model centred around producing the next generation of First Team stars.
After winning the Premiership double with the NYL team, Montgomery was appointed Head Coach of the Central Coast Mariners in July 2021.
In his first season in charge, Montgomery galvanised the A-League side, basing his philosophy around youth players who he believed in. Speaking to the coachesvoice.com prior to being appointed, Montgomery outlined the challenges he faced and how he overcame them.
“At that time, we needed to sign eight players because of A-League rules – but there was only a quarter of the budget left. Straight away, I brought in youth players from the academy on minimum-wage contracts, who’d not trained with the First Team.
“I put full belief in them. I knew that, with a bit of time to accelerate their development in a full-time environment, they would be ready to challenge and go past some of the more senior players.
“In that first season, we ranked number one in the Asian Football Confederation, and 17th in the world, for academy graduates playing in the first team. I also gave Garang Kuol his debut at 17. He became the youngest player in the World Cup knockout stages since Pelé, before transferring to Newcastle United.”
With one of the smallest budgets in the league, Montgomery inspired his side to the Australian Cup Final for the first time in the Club’s history in his first season in charge before leading the Mariners to the A-League title the following season – beating Melbourne City 6-1 in the Grand Final earlier this season. The Mariners also qualified for the AFC Cup (Asia’s equivalent of the Europa League) for the first time in their history.
Former Hibee – Jason Cummings – revitalised his career under Nick Montgomery, scoring a hat-trick in the final and breaking the record for most goals for the Mariners in a single season.
Cummings hailed Montgomery’s influence as life-changing, praising Montgomery’s effective man-management style. The Englishman also helped develop the likes of Lewis Miller (Hibs), Sammy Silvera (Middlesbrough), James McGarry (Aberdeen), and Garang Kuol (Newcastle) who were all sold overseas with the money reinvested back into the Club.
Montgomery now returns to Scotland – having played twice for the Scotland U21 side as a player – and has penned a three-deal alongside Sergio Raimundo (Assistant Head Coach) and Miguel de Oliveira Miranda (Goalkeeping Coach).
