Scott Allan fears 'unrecognisable' Hibs have lost fan bond as he sets Nick Montgomery a target

Scott Allan fears “unrecognisable” Hibs have lost the connection with their fans - and claims just throwing money at their problems won’t solve them.

The former Hibees midfielder is anticipating another big clear out of players this summer after a dismal season that has seen them miss out on the top six and ramped up pressure on boss Nick Montgomery. But he reckons the constant turnover in the squad is holding his old club back.

The Hibs hierarchy have launched a root and branch review into their footballing structure which is being led by Bill Foley’s Black Knight FC consortium following the American's 25 per cent buy-in to the club earlier this year. Allan, who had three spells in Leith and is currently on loan at Larne from Arbroath, reckons the biggest change needs to come on the pitch.

He said: “Watching Hibs, I find them quite unrecognisable in terms of their style of play, and what the fans demand at Hibs. I get the feeling there’s not a connection, at the moment, between the fans and the team.

“That happens when you go through poor results. But leading up to the split, Hibs were in a good place. They just needed to win at home to St Johnstone – Hibs have got to be winning that game. A defeat there leads on to more – and that was the story of Hibs’ season. They don’t just lose one game; it always leads to more problems.

“We’re now talking about a clear-out again in the summer. This seems to be every summer, every transfer window, now for Hibs. The turnover of players, you’re never going to get success with a team if you have constant turnover. When you’re in a changing room with players, you make friends. He’s gone. It’s very hard to create a team bond.”

Montgomery replaced sacked Lee Johnson in September and became the fourth Hibs manager in less than three years after Jack Ross and Shaun Maloney were also binned. But after winning only eight league games from 29 the pressure is building on the former Central Coast Mariners boss.

A statement released by Hibs announcing the review last week branded missing out on the top six as “simply unacceptable”. Allan reckons Montgomery needs to win a minimum three of the last five games this season to bring some momentum going into the summer and give himself a proper chance to rebuild.

He told the BBC Scottish Football Podcast: “Of course, the obvious thing is you can’t keep changing the manager. But because there is a lot of change higher up at the club all the time … we talk about investment, investment, investment. So with investment, everyone thinks money.

“If something isn’t going well, can we throw money at it? That’s the sort of thinking people are now associating with Hibs. I go back to the players. There has been a hell of a turnover. But the games they’ve had to win, they haven’t won.

“When a fan turns up, they want to be excited and see a winning time. Nine wins at home, are Hibs fans going to accept that? That’s why there are probably a lot of people on the fence in terms of what should happen.

“In terms of the statement, probably even more pressure has been put on Nick Montgomery and his coaching staff now. As a player, you are aware they’ve come out and made that statement. It’s an added pressure.

“You’ve got to want to play in Europe. Yeah, maybe this year for Nick Montgomery, not being in Europe maybe gives him a chance to see what he’s going to do tactically.

“And it gives him a chance to see what his strongest team is going to be – because I still think he doesn’t know his strongest team. And we’re now into the business end of the season. Those bottom six games are not easy. Especially when you’re not playing at your best. The home games are key. And maybe pick up a win away from home would probably be enough. To win all the games is a tough ask.

“I’m going to say home wins and one away win, that would maybe be enough to say: ‘Look, we get to the summer and see what the problem has been this season.’ Because there has to be changes, especially on the park.”