Nick Montgomery wants Hibs to develop an 'ugly' streak as squad must dust down for Aberdeen FC tussle

Nick Montgomery has told Hibs they need to learn how to do the ugly side of the game as they prepare for the Viaplay Cup semi-final against Aberdeen.

The Leith side go into Saturday's Hampden showdown off the back of a frustrating 2-2 draw with Ross County at Easter Road where Hibs threw away a two-goal lead. The manager was particularly disappointed with his side’s failure to manage the game when in a commanding position but he hopes they will have learned their lessons ahead of the clash with Aberdeen.

Montgomery said: “I thought we were a bit flat against Ross County. I asked them at half-time why that was the case but you have to learn from it and manage it in the game and make better decisions. But sometimes that’s not always the case. Sometimes when you’re not playing particularly well you need to work on the ugly side of the game and that’s blocking shots, stopping crosses, picking up in the box and making it really hard for the opposition to score.

“It’s definitely something to work on. I believe in the squad but we were disappointed with the result against Ross County.

“We have to move on from the other night, we take the point and prepare ourselves for the big game this weekend.

“It’s a cup game at Hampden, there will be a big crowd so it’s an exciting time – the boys will dust themselves down. It’s a semi-final and an opportunity to get to a final so we’ll go there ready and full of confidence and looking forward to putting in a good performance.”