Nick Montgomery has revealed that a breakdown in trust and 'differences of opinion' over Hibernian's proposed rebuild contributed to his departure from Easter Road.
The current Beijing Guoan manager was appointed Hibs boss in September 2023 after impressing during a title-winning spell with Central Coast Mariners in Australia.
Montgomery admits he had opportunities to continue his career elsewhere but was attracted to the challenge of taking charge in Edinburgh because of his Scottish heritage and the potential he saw at Hibs.
“I had a lot of offers to go to Japan and other places, but I’ve got Scottish heritage in my family, and Hibs is a big club that hasn't had much success in a long time,” he told GiveMeSport.
“I was promised a rebuild. The club was bottom of the league and in a bit of a mess. I started well and took the team into the top three at one point.
“Then there was the Africa Cup of Nations and the Asian Cup, and we lost half the starting players.”
Hibs ultimately missed out on a place in the Premiership’s top six in dramatic circumstances. Shane Blaney’s late equaliser for Motherwell in a 1-1 draw at Fir Park, combined with Dundee's goalless draw at Aberdeen, meant the Dee pipped Montgomery’s side to the final top-six berth.
And he believes disagreements behind the scenes eventually brought his tenure to an end. In Hibs' bottom-six fixtures, they won 3-1 away to St Johnstone before a 2-1 loss at Ross County, and a 4-0 home defeat by Aberdeen that ultimately signalled the end for Montgomery.
“I felt I was building something really good, but we just missed out on the top six with the last kick of the ball,” Montgomery continued.
“Then I had differences of opinion with the club over what had been promised in terms of the rebuild.
“You have the owner who wants his way, and in the end we chose to part ways. I moved on, went to Tottenham and won the Europa League. Everything happens for a reason.”
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Montgomery subsequently joined Ange Postecoglou’s coaching staff at Tottenham and then Nottingham Forest, before moving to China to take charge of Beijing Guoan.
And despite the way his time in Edinburgh ended, the former Hibs boss insists he has taken lessons from the experience.
“I always believe every experience is a good experience – good, bad or indifferent,” he said.
“Trust is a big thing for me. If you lose that trust, it’s difficult. But you grow from every experience.”
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