Nick Montgomery must bin Hibs attacking approach after Rangers reality check - Tam McManus

A belated welcome to Scottish football Nick Montgomery and to some painful Premiership facts of life for any manager outside of the Old Firm.

If you have the audacity toe to toe with either of the Old Firm then more often than not you'll get a sore face. After a five week honeymoon in the Hibs hotseat, it's reality check time and with Celtic arriving in Leith on Saturday, lessons will hopefully have been learned. On the evidence of Montgomery's post-match remarks from losing 4-0 at Ibrox, the worry is there could be a few more cracks in the jaw and upper-cuts about to come their way. "I am not going to change the way we play."

I think someone should have a wee word in his ear. The gulf between Hibs, Hearts and Aberdeen to where Celtic and even an underperforming Rangers sit is far too wide to bridge by playing them at their own game. Maybe Montgomery appreciated that at full-time last weekend and realised he should have been a bit more pragmatic in his approach.

He deployed a 4-42 formation which was verging on a 4-2-4 at times and left themselves wide open at the back. Time after time they tried to play the ball out from the back and Rangers pressed them into giving the ball away and they could have conceded seven or eight.

Montgomery may stand by his words of not changing his system but if he goes with that approach against Celtic then Hibs are going to get thumped. Management isn't about sticking to principles, it's about assessing your squad and working out the best way to get a result. Ditch the noble philosophy Nick, bin the 4-4-2.

This Hibs side has plenty of firepower, the manager will know where the strengths are, I understand his approach against Rangers as why would he want his side to sit in, especially as