Jair Tavares reveals Hibs 'mental devastation' kept him up at night as he makes Nick Montgomery vow

Jair Tavares has revealed his mental turmoil at being frozen out at Hibs under Lee Johnson - and vowed to repay Nick Montgomery for handing him an Easter Road lifeline.

The winger was hailed as a signing “coup” by Johnson after making a six-figure move from Benfica B to Leith 18 months ago. He was even handed the number 10 shirt vacated by Martin Boyle the previous season. But the Portuguese made just two league starts under the former boss before being told it was time to find a new club in the summer. Tavares was left off the pre-season camp in Marbella and the only minutes he got before the change of manager in September was for the development side.

But since Mongomery’s appointment the 22-year-old has made nine appearances for Hibs, notching his first goal for the club against Ross County last month. Tavares said: “It was a hard time. The toughest time I’ve had in my short career.

“I was devastated mentally to be honest. At that time the hardest thing was to come here and smile. I was devastated mentally; I woke up every day knowing I wasn’t going to play at the weekend. I just had to try and smile.

“It’s difficult when you’re far from home. At the time I was thinking ‘I left my home, my parents, my friends, so why would I give up’. I kept doing what I was doing and working hard behind the scenes.

“I kept talking to my dad; he’s the closest person to me in this football world. My teammates were always there for me too. They talked to me, the experienced guys were telling me not to give up, to keep smiling, and to keep training hard.

“If I watch back, I had difficult moments when I first came in because the football here is very different to Portugal; the tempo, the speed, everything. I knew I had to get sharper and