Martin Boyle picks up Hibs injury celebrating disallowed goal as Nick Montgomery to tell star ditch the knee slide

Nick Montgomery has launched a staunch defence of his start as Hibs boss and revealed Martin Boyle may have injured himself with a knee-slide celebration.

The former Scotland Under-21 cap has only won one of his first eight Premiership matches in charge and has seen his team throw away winning positions in recent draws with St Mirren and Ross County. Frustration among the fans about the results has been tempered by Montgomery’s front-foot approach to matches and the encouraging displays the players have delivered.

And as Hibs prepare for today’s visit of Kilmarnock, the ex-Central Coast Mariners manager has made it clear that he believes Hibs are heading in the right direction. He said: “Every fan wants to win every game. I want to win every game and the players want to win every game but unfortunately that’s not sport. The improvements have been there for everybody to see. I think in terms of the style of play, the way we’ve been playing every week, it’s a process where we continue to do what we’re doing.

"I’m more than confident that the results are going to come but nothing happens overnight. The fact is, I’ve been here for eight weeks and I’ve lost one game of football in the league, to Rangers, who are one of the best teams in the competition and even in that game I felt we played really well up until we gave away a poor goal.

“Moving forward we will continue to improve and with players out injured there is an opportunity for others to come in. We have to look at it on a week-by-week basis; the positives are that we’re playing good football, we’re scoring goals and creating chances.

“There are 16-year-old academy kids starting games of football, coming off the bench, filling in for players or long-term injured