Hibs and Dons prove there's no divine right to contend

Hibs' Lewis Miller and Aberdeen's Graeme Shinnie at full time after a 2-2 draw between the two at Pittodrie.

Underwhelming campaigns a reminder of football’s fickle nature

Hibs hosting Aberdeen in the WRONG half of the Scottish Premiership proves that no team can simply expect to compete at the business end of the table, according to Easter Road gaffer Nick Montgomery. And he points to repeated relegations suffered by big-spending English clubs as proof that money never won a game of football.

Monty accepts that Hibs underperformed in missing out on a place in the top six by conceding a late equaliser in their final pre-split fixture. And he sympathises with Dons fans who have suffered through a season of turmoil that has left the once-mighty Reds a point adrift of the Hibees.

As the pair prepare to meet at Easter Road on Sunday, Monty said the example of Birmingham City – who have just dropped into the League One – is a reminder of what can happen regardless of budgets and best intentions, the Yorkshireman insisting: “I don’t think there is any divine right, in any league in the world, to be in a certain position. We play games so you can earn the right to be there.

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“You only have to look at some of the big clubs down south who have dropped down the leagues. Yeah, Birmingham City are an example. Look at the money spent by some of these clubs, the challenges they’ve faced in terms of stability in consistency, you see nobody has a right to be anywhere.

“You’re talking about a big club in Aberdeen. They’ve spent a lot of money, put a squad together to play in European competitions.

“But they find themselves in the bottom six, like us. And like us, they’ll be trying to finish this season strongly, then have some sort of, I don’t want to say rebuild, but a chance to prepare for next season.”

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Hibs bounced back from the heartbreak of missing out on the top six by beating St Johnstone in Perth in their first post-split fixture, only to suffer another dramatic late loss against Ross County in the Highlands last weekend. With Montgomery under pressure to improve results after a board statement branding the season “unacceptable”, the home side arguably need to win their three remaining fixtures – Motherwell at home on Wednesday night and then Livingston away next Sunday round off the campaign – in order to quell chatter about more managerial change in the pipeline.