New Hibs boss Nick Montgomery has vowed to bring a “new identity” to the football club after signing a three-year deal at Easter Road.

The 41-year-old joins from A-League side Central Coast Mariners in Australia and will be joined by Portuguese duo Sergio Raimundo (assistant head coach) and Miguel de Oliveira Miranda (goalkeeping coach). David Gray will remain as First Team Coach.

Montgomery replaces Lee Johnson who was sacked last month after a poor start to the Premiership season.

He arrives at Easter Road with a reputation as one of the best young coaches in Australia after leading the Central Coast Mariners to the A-League Championship last season – their first in 10 years.

As a coach, Leeds-born Montgomery started in the Central Coast Mariners Academy and revitalised their youth system before becoming head coach in 2021.

As a defensive midfielder, he made over 500 appearances, featuring in the English Premier League and English Championship – he spent the majority of his career with Sheffield United, making 398 appearances across 12 seasons – alongside the Australian A-League, and earned two caps for Scotland’s Under-21s.

“Right now, we aren’t where we should be in terms of the league position at the start of the season,” said Montgomery. “But that is my responsibility now to put the belief into the players and to create an environment where everybody wants to come into training, not just the players but the staff, too.

“We need everyone to be together and to buy into the long-term vision of making Hibs successful.

“I’ll try and bring a new identity to the club, and that’s not easy to do, but hard work on the training ground and the buy-in from the players, staff, and community then it’s possible.

“I really want to push this club forward, bring a real work ethic, and a style of play supporters will enjoy watching. Our identity is something fans can come and enjoy; a team with a lot of energy and I like to score goals. I like to win games of football.”

Hibs’ director of football Brian McDermott said: “I’ve followed Nick’s career for a number of years. As a player, he was a leader and he’s brought that quality into his managerial and coaching career. What he’s done as a coach is really impressive.

“He helped rebuild what is now a successful Academy and did a magnificent job of bringing through and developing young players. Alongside this, he has incredibly strong coaching credentials.”