Nick Montgomery has been given strict instructions by the good lady not to swear, but the Hibs manager still finds himself immersed in the atmosphere of the Edinburgh derby. The manager can’t wait to get back in the thick of the action tomorrow night as he relives his first experience of the Capital derby after two months in Tynecastle. Now he has the chance to taste it on home ground.
The bosses of Derby are always the centre of attention when it comes to the big game and Montgomery will be even more scrutinised as he will be in front of the Sky Sports microphones during the match. Favourite language is off the menu as Montgomery says: “Yes, my wife always tells me to be more careful with my language. It’s no secret there’s a bit of industrial football talk going on in the technical areas. When you’re passionate about something, swear words come out.
That’s something I’ve definitely worked on over the years because I have three girls and I don’t want to be pigeonholed as a “bad mouth” type of person. But it’s passion. And you have fans who sit in front of the dugout every single week. They get it live and face-to-face every other week.
Fans in other areas of the stadium may not be able to see what’s going on on the bench, but Montgomery says he’s looking forward to getting back into the action after his first match with Hibs since relocating from Australia.
Hibs fought back from two goals down in the first half at Gorgie to give their manager a point in the thrilling October encounter that saw the lot
Montgomery said he “lost his nerve at half-time” and later described the day as “absolutely crazy” after the final whistle. But looking back on this one, he added: “I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the atmosphere, I enjoyed the fans, I enjoyed the inside of the stadium. It was a really tense derby atmosphere, where you knew it was going to be a good game before the first touch of the ball. That’s what we love about football, being able to be involved in that kind of atmosphere. It was great to see the passion from the fans.”
I’ve played in many derbies and coached in a few, and it’s never dull. The initiative with Sky Sports to have the manager’s voice available as the game goes on will add to the intrigue. Given the magnitude of the match, it would be understandable for the manager to opt not to.
However, Hearts manager Naismith refused to do so and since the announcement other top-flight managers across the country have said it wouldn’t be for them either.
Not only will fans hear live from Montgomery, but those watching on the box will also get pictures beamed inside the dressing room throughout the night.
Montgomery will have a chat with the broadcasters during the game and Hibs number two Sergio Raimundo is set to wear a camera for added video coverage. Hibs are thrilled to be involved in these exciting plans and their boss said: “This is something that was agreed upon by Hearts, Hibs and Sky Sports, as well as the Scottish football authorities, a few months ago.“I understand that discussions were held to make the derby televised like this, hopefully to raise the profile of this fixture and Scottish football in general.”
