Aberdeen and Hibs are locked together - and now is not time to be left behind

With an identical league record and fighting for top six, Saturday’s Pittodrie clash could have huge bearing on Premiership fortunes

Managers will tell you that they pay little attention to league tables in February but in the case of Aberdeen’s Neil Warnock and Hibs’ Nick Montgomery, now is the time to be giving the Premiership ladder a lot of scrutiny.

The Dons and the Hibees began this season with aspirations of finishing third, yet their respective campaigns have simultaneously veered off the rails. Both clubs have sacked the manager that kicked off 2023/24 and both sit closer to the relegation zone than they do to Hearts, present occupiers of best of the rest. Aberdeen overhauled a sizeable gap between them and the Jambos last season – and Hibs were a derby-day victory away from doing so too – but surely this time the Jambos are over the hill and far away.

Locked together on 26 points after 24 games with an identical goal difference, goals scored and goals against, Hibs are a place better off in eighth than Aberdeen by virtue of beating the Dons twice on league duty already this season. Hearts are 22 points ahead of the pair. Kilmarnock, in fourth, have played one match more but still have a ten-point cushion. St Mirren have a nine-point advantage in fifth. Dundee hold the last berth in the top six on 29 points but, unlike Aberdeen and Hibs, they are having a good season.

Hibs and Aberdeen are both fighting to make the top six, with a thoughts of finishing third now a distant memory.

Motherwell, in seventh, are also on 26 points and St Johnstone, in tenth are two points inferior. All these clubs harbour ambitions of reaching the top six when the league splits after 33 matches. Aberdeen and Hibs have nine games to stake their claim and it is odds against that both will be in the better half of the league come the weekend of April 14.

Two seasons ago, they both missed out and flailed about in the bottom six with five fairly meaningless matches. With fourth and fifth likely to bring European football next term, there is still plenty to play for. This season’s runs in the Europa Conference League for Aberdeen (group stages) and Hibs (play-off round) brought glamour and cash. Just look at Hibs’ latest accounts, with a near £4million loss, and the need for success on the pitch is stark.

Livingston, currently bottom of the league on 13 points, do not look capable of dragging them into the automatic relegation spot but neither fanbase would conclusively tell you that Aberdeen and Hibs are safe from the clutches of Ross County in 11th place, seven points behind them. Hibs play the Staggies twice in March. On paper, their squad is more than capable of avoiding such a perilous situation but February’s fixtures are tough, Saturday’s visit to Pittodrie followed up by Dundee at home and then Hearts away in the derby.

Aberdeen will point to their European run and the toll of playing eight Thursday-Sunday weeks as a reason for their decline. Hibs will use the excuse of injuries and some of their key men being away on international duty at AFCON and the Asian Cup. These are valid – to some extent. But both clubs’ recruitment in the summer was flawed. Hibs, in particular, have never solved a gaping issue at centre-half. Aberdeen have hardly been watertight either. Cup competitions have been their main domestic success story, the Dons beating Hibs in the semi-finals en route to the League Cup final and both safely in the hat for the last eight of the Scottish Cup.

Hibs manager Nick Montgomery needs a league win after taking just two points from his past seven Premiership matches.

The veteran Warnock, now 75, was a master craftsman in England for rejuvenating under-performing teams. Brought in to replace Barry Robson earlier this month, it is too early to comment definitively on his impact. Recovering a 3-0 deficit midweek at home to Motherwell shows he can get a reaction from a dire situation. He gave his Hibs counterpart Montgomery his playing debut 24 years ago at Sheffield United. Thirty-three years split the pair. They spoke warmly about each other in their pre-match press conferences but both will be acutely aware of the need to beat each other.

Hibs showed early signs of promise under Montgomery, who came in at the start of September, and when Hibs defeated Aberdeen 2-0 on December 3, both teams played good football in a really competitive Sunday afternoon clash at Easter Road. It seemed inconceivable at that point that neither wouldn’t be in the mix for third, never mind the top six. But Hibs in particular have fallen off a cliff in the league since, only winning at Livingston thereafter. Two points from 21 is relegation form.

A dismal February would put the Hibs board in an uncomfortable situation. Reluctant to part company with yet another manager, there are some Hibbies already at the end of their Montgomery tether. The Easter Road hierarchy have put a lot of faith in the 42-year-old Yorkshireman. Admirably, he has strayed away from his 4-4-2 formation and put three in central midfield. Nathan Moriah-Welsh, a 21-year-old January signing, has stiffened them up in that department. The undoubtedly talented Myziane Maolida, once a £10million forward, is on loan from Hertha Berlin and hopes are he will get better and better with each match. Waiting in the wings is American billionaire Bill Foley, with his £6million investment due to be ratified at the end of the month. Brighter days – financially, at least – are on the horizon.

Warnock surely can’t be sacked given he is a temporary fix until the end of the season, but when 3-0 down to Motherwell after half-an-hour, he admitted the thought popped into his head. He has praised his team’s work ethic but pointedly referenced shortcomings in certain areas of the team. His appointment is supposed to buy the Pittodrie hierarchy space and time to find the long-term managerial solution.

Aberdeen are relying on Neil Warnock to hold the fort as they search for a permanent manager.

While in a league sense, Aberdeen and Hibs would probably like to hit the fast-forward button and reset next season, a win for either in the north-east on Saturday could act as the much-needed turbo boost to a sluggish season. Defeat would leave the loser in the slipstream of too many. Now is not the time to be left behind.