What Nick Montgomery brings to Hibs as Central Coast Mariners style assessed amid Easter Road talks

It seems as if Hibs are close to getting the man they want to replace Lee Johnson.

The Englishman was sacked just over a week ago after a 3-2 home defeat to Livingston and club legend David Gray has been placed in temporary charge. He led the Hibees to an impressive 2-0 victory away to Aberdeen at the weekend to pick up their first points of the season. But that's unlikely to land him a crack at the job on a permanent basis.

Record Sport exclusively revealed that Central Coast Mariners boss Montgomery was in the running for the Easter Road gig. Now reports have emerged from Australia that the Yorkshireman is in the Scottish capital to talk terms with the Leith outfit as they close in on a new boss. If he is appointed, then there will be on familiar face in his new squad in the shape of Lewis Miller, who he managed at Central Coast.

But what can Hibs fans expect if Monty is the man? Record Sport takes a closer look.

While Mariners don't exactly pass team to death, they do tend to enjoy slightly more of the ball in games, with an average possession of 52.75 per cent. Goals weren't a problem either, with Montgomery's side average 2.29 per game, above their xG of 2.16.

At 1.39 goals conceded per game, Mariners were relatively solid at the back, winning 62.2 per cent of their defensive duels. Aerial duels won were just under half at 47.8 per cent

In terms of passing style, Montgomery's team can mix it up but prefer not to go long. An average of 45.39 long passes per game was well behind lateral passes (167.26) and forward passes (143.23).

Montgomery is a bit old school in that he preferred a 4-4-2 with Mariners last season. With two slightly deeper midfielders, two wingers and one slightly deeper forward, he deployed the