He did that by staying true to his principles and beliefs and by trusting his own coaching practices. The plan has always been to do likewise in Scotland – and, given time, he believes he can – but after a couple of unsettling performances against Hearts and Rangers, where the fans’ faith has been tested by his refusal to deviate from his preferred tactics and formation, contributing to disappointing displays, the upcoming match against reigning league champions Celtic will be interesting.

No-one anticipates a sudden switch to a plan B, but Montgomery does expect, and require, a better execution of his gameplan. That does not include conceding easy, early goals, does involve a more compact, controlled shape when out of possession, and relies on the attacking players at his disposal being able to damage their guests when they get the freedom to break.

That worked against teams in his opening run of games as Hibs boss but has been described as naive in the trickier head-to-heads since. Dogged, Montgomery refuses to shirk away from outside analysis instead accepting his role as “the leader of the group”, saying that he takes “responsibility for every result”. As a fairly young manager still learning his trade, he will square up to Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic side on Saturday, well aware that it represents a step up.

Hibs manager Nick Montgomery knows his coaching credentials face a stern challenge against Celtic.

“Celtic are one of the best teams I have coached against, for sure,” said Montgomery. “You only need to see them midweek when they were playing against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. For me, this is a great opportunity to go up against a very, very good coach in Brendan Rodgers, who has had a lot of success in the [English] Premier League and in the SPL as well. It’s something I’m definitely looking forward to and I can’t wait for the game.

“It is always good to be the underdog. If you’re the underdog then that gives you half a chance but the boys know they will have to fight. You are going to have to compete for 90-95 minutes but we are at home, in front of our fans. I don’t think anyone should come to Easter Road and have an easy game. I think we have already proven that. Your home form is something that can help you throughout the season but when the big teams come, they are used to going to big stadiums and big atmospheres but we have got to make it really difficult for them on the pitch and I’m sure that the fans will get behind the team. I have already witnessed how special that can be and this is a game we are all looking forward to.”

The former A League coach watched the midweek European clash and while he admired aspects of the Celtic performance, he was also alert to any weaknesses which could be exploited. “Yeah, I watched the game and I thought it was a fantastic spectacle for the neutral,” continued Montgomery. “When you see that Champions League badge and hear the music, the stadium is electric. So, I really enjoyed watching the game. I thought Celtic were fantastic for 55-60 minutes. They were absolutely outstanding. And we are talking about Atletico Madrid, who are a top-class team, and who came strong at the end. With a man sent off, that was good timing for Celtic because they really were putting a lot of pressure on them, it was a great game of football. There was so much attacking quality and it was really competitive and those are the games you really enjoy watching.

“Celtic are a top quality team and Brendan has done a fantastic job with them since Ange [Postecoglou] left. They are playing some fantastic football, and they are very attack=minded, but they also conceded two goals. Atletico are a very good team, though, and I thought the result at the end was probably fair. But it was two very, very good teams and those are the teams you want to play against.

From left, Martin Boyle, Jair Tavares, Riley Harbottle, Jimmy Jeggo and Joe Newell train ahead of facing Celtic.

“This weekend it isn’t Celtic Park, though, we are at Easter Road, in front of our fans and our family, and we are really looking forward to that atmosphere. It is a good game for us.”

While some critics believe that it is needlessly risky to try to implement a gameplan without the right players in place to deliver against Scottish football’s biggest and best, the matches against Hearts and Rangers were on the road and Montgomery is hoping that a return to familiar surroundings could focus minds and help his men maintain the levels of concentration necessary to deliver his tactics..

“I’m relishing it,” he said. “I’m a young coach and I had success overseas with a very young team and a really small budget and it is no different here in terms of playing the big teams. You know that they have a lot of quality in strength and depth but those are the games where you want to test yourself. As a player, I loved playing in the big games and, as a coach, when I came to this club, these were the games that everyone talked about and for me it is something I’m looking forward to.

“It’s about training hard every day on the field, letting everybody know that it’s 0-0 when the game kicks off, and that if you defend and attack well, you’ve got a chance to win the game. But it can’t be for 50 per cent of the time, it has to be for the whole game because against the better teams you get punished. Concentration is definitely vital against the big teams, and that’s something we’ve spoken about this week.”

No sudden Hibs switch to Plan B as Nick Montgomery relishes challenge against 'very good' Celtic coach