Hibs' confidence surges as Jair Tavares flourishes - 'I don't think he was in our changing room before new gaffer came in'

Hibees move into fifth place as Portuguese winger hogs limelight once more

Hibs' Lewis Miller (C) celebrates scoring to make it 2-0 with his teammates at Dundee.

There is little doubt Hibs have improved since September, when Nick Montgomery replaced Lee Johnson as manager, but one big failing for this team was the inability to see out a lead.

Montgomery himself had identified that deficiency and asked his players to rectify it. Under his watch, Kilmarnock, Ross County and St Mirren have all scored late in matches to peg back a Hibs lead. The sign of a good coach is improving a team across multiple areas and, crucially, getting victories along the way. Saturday’s 2-1 Premiership win over Dundee, allowing Hibs to leapfrog them in the process, was an example of progress. Dens Park is not an easy place to go and leading 2-0, they had to play the last half-hour with ten men following Lewis Miller’s red card. The dismissal gave Dundee fresh impetus and they laid siege to Hibs’ goal. Owen Beck did net on 86 minutes but Hibs held firm.

"It's something that we've not been doing recently,” defender Will Fish, who ended up being shunted out to right-back, said of the team’s show of fortitude. “We've chucked away a few leads but I thought we defended well, especially when we were down to ten men. That's what it takes to get three points in this league. If we want to go far then we've got to do that more often.”

Jair Tavares was on the scoresheet again for Hibs.

Fish was honest enough to admit that previous experiences of relinquishing advantages can be at the back of a player’s mind. “It does to an extent, but when you are in the game you focus on your job,” the Manchester United loanee said. “It definitely does cross your mind but hopefully Saturday can help us turn a corner and kick on. We did manage to hold out and that will be a big confidence boost for the boys. We can build on that, look back and review, even things that could get better for the future. The last half-an-hour was a good test of our character.”

Hibs took the lead at Dens Park through a fine goal from Jair Tavares and doubled their lead thanks to a header from Miller. The renaissance of Tavares in particular, a skilful winger signed from Benfica two summers ago, has become a big talking point at Easter Road. The 22-year-old was completely out of the picture under Johnson, training with the youth team, but has been given a chance under Montgomery and has grasped it.

"I don't think he was in our changing room before the new gaffer came in,” admitted Fish. “Fair play to him, he's moved countries, he's left everyone behind and hats off to him, he's stuck at it and now you can see the talent he's got. I feel like the squad and the fans have a good connection and it's nice for him to do that [celebrate in front of support]. He deserves it and hopefully he can kick on – you never know what might happen. I'll be honest with you, when he wasn't training us I didn't actually see too much of him, but since he's come back under the new gaffer, the way he wants to play, he looks like a totally new player.”