Hibs have to chuck Dylan Vente off training ground as Nick Montgomery raves about forwards

Dylan Vente is in a rich vein of form for Hibs right now.

Waxing lyrical about the Dutchman, the new Hibs boss also described Adam Le Fondre as “one of the best of his generation”, adding that having them, along with Christian Doidge, in the team was something he was “very happy about”.

Speaking ahead of this afternoon’s match against Dundee, Montgomery said: “You can coach strikers, and I’ve played with some very good ones, but ultimately you can’t coach them where to be in the box when the ball arrives, for me that’s a knack and Dylan has it. His finish against St Mirren, he spins and hits it with his left. To be both-footed and have the ability to find space in the box, it’s nice to have those players.

“He’s always out practicing his finishing. At times, you have to chuck him off the training ground, especially with three games in a week! I told him to get off the training pitch today, he was still taking free-kicks and finishing. Dylan is enjoying his football and is playing in a team that’s creating chances. For a striker, that’s the teams they want to be in. He’s a player who has belief he can score every time he steps on the field, and if you have three of them – with Doidgey and Le Fondre, one of the best of his generation – it’s nice to have those options. Dylan’s been fantastic – he’s very low maintenance, listens.”

The 24-year-old also tends to be in the right place at the right time, according to his gaffer. “So far, it is six shots and five goals, that’s what I was told, or five in five, which is even better. But if you look at Dylan’s career, even at youth level, he’s scored 20-odd goals a season. That’s not easy to do. It was good, astute business by the club.

“The strikers I name there all have different qualities, but Alfie is really intelligent. He finds those half-spaces and his awareness of what’s around him is top class. The flick for Dylan against St Johnstone was top class. If you see that at any level, you hold your hands up … the awareness, the weight of pass and Dylan understanding what he’s going to do, we work on that in training as well. When you have players of that intelligence, you’ll always have chances to score goals.”

While all the main strikers are off the mark and targeting double figures, Montgomery, whose men face Dundee at Easter Road this weekend looking to build even more momentum ahead of the first capital derby of the season, also has wingers he can rely on to weigh in. “Yeah I was talking purely about central strikers but with the way we play, Elie [Youna] and Boyley can score and assist. All of them can do that. We need to make sure they defend as well and understand their role is not just to score. They have to work hard for the team, if not they won’t play. But they’re all honest and not afraid to track back to do the other side of the game. It’s always nice to have players sharing goals around.”