Nick Montgomery new Hibs manager favourite - 'unbelievable' title win, text from Ange Postecoglou, Jason Cummings praise

Nick Montgomery has emerged as the new favourite for the Hibs managerial vacancy – displacing former boss Neil Lennon at the top of the bookmakers odds.

Central Coast Mariners head coach Nick Montgomery is the new bookmakers' favourite for the Hibs job. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

The Central Coast Mariners head coach has a blossoming reputation after guiding his club to the A-League title last season in just his second season in charge with a 6-1 thrashing of Melbourne City in the Grand Final.

Montgomery spent 12 years at Sheffield United as a player before moving to Australia to sign for the Mariners in 2012. He played for the club for five years then moved into coaching, working his way up through the youth ranks at Mariners before taking on the head coach role in 2021.

Despite being born in Leeds he was eligible to play for Scotland and made two appearances for the Under-21s back in 2003.

The 41-year-old has moved into evens money to replace Lee Johnson in the Hibs hotseat, edging ahead of Lennon, who touted himself for the job on Sky Sports on Wednesday, stating it was “an attractive prospect for a lot of applicants” and said he would “be interested in a conversation, that’s for sure”.

Montgomery recently spoke of his pride at leading Mariners to the A-League title – which he compared to Luton Town defeating Manchester City due to his budget constraints – and revealed he received a congratulatory message from former Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou, now in charge of Tottenham Hotspur.

'I had a text from Ange after the Grand Final, saying 'it's a wonderful achievement, you should be really proud'," Montgomery told the Daily Mail. “Ange still follows the A-League and obviously had success at Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory. At the time they were two of the biggest clubs in the competition with marquee players.

“I'm not taking anything away from what Ange achieved as he's a legend of Australian football who I admire a lot – but he did it with a good budget and marquee players. To take over the team with the smallest budget in the league, people told me I was crazy, calling it 'managerial suicide'.

“I knew it would be a massive challenge, but anyone who knows me knows I love a challenge. As an Englishman from Leeds, to win the league with a club which has never had a marquee player – and with the youngest team and smallest budget – is unbelievable.

"Beating Melbourne City last weekend was a David and Goliath story and the equivalent of Luton Town defeating Manchester City.”

Former Hibs striker Jason Cummings hailed Montgomery for “changing his life” after he signed for Mariners last year before going on to play and score in the Grand Final win as well as earning international honours and a World Cup call up for Australia.

Cummings stated: “What a journey man. I've been here a year and a half and the gaffer changed my lifeMy career was spiraling out of control but I love the Coast man, I'm lost for words. I've never experienced anything like it in my life, I've never had a manager believe in me like he has.”