Nick Montgomery still isn't my Hibs job favourite but Jason Cummings success story proves he might be the man - Tam McManus

The smart money appears to be on Nick Montgomery for the Hibs job.

If any one person should underline the Central Coast Mariners boss’ credentials, look no further than the Cumdog... Jason Cummings. The former Hibs prodigy looked to have lost his way in the game after a big-money move to Nottingham Forest didn’t work out and was a shadow of himself at Dundee, where off-field activities never helped his cause.

When Montgomery and the Mariners offered him an opportunity to relaunch Down Under it looked like last-chance saloon for the striker. But one year in New South Wales and suddenly Cummings was breaking scoring records, off to the World Cup with the Socceroos and winning himself a move to become the highest paid player in India.

It’s a remarkable rejuvenation and while most of the credit goes to the player, there has to be a major acknowledgement of the man-management of Montgomery. By all accounts, it’s one of the 41-year-old’s strongest assets and, in the modern game, man management is 50 per cent of the job.

Listen, last week I said Derek McInnes was the man for the Hibs job and I stand by that. But if Montgomery is to be the next manager at Easter Road, then he deserves backing.

I played with Nick 20 years ago. We were in the Scotland Under-21s together and he was at Sheffield United at the time. He was quiet. A northern boy from Leeds. No frills on the park – a solid sitting midfielder. Everything Tam McManus at that age wasn’t! But he was a good lad. And a very good player. He was unfortunate not to get a full cap given the level he was playing at.

He’s got his management career off to a flier in Australia, winning the A-League championship. Cummings looked as if his career was going nowhere until he went