BY ALAN TEMPLE – Capital City Press
Montrose boss Paul Hegarty is no stranger to a Scott Allan saga after witnessing his acrimonious exit from Dundee United first-hand.
However, he has brushed aside suggestions that the sideshow surrounding the gifted playmaker could help his League Two minnows manufacture an almighty shock against Hibs this afternoon.
Allan, who has handed in a transfer request in a bid to engineer a move to Rangers, was left out of the starting line-up for the Hibees 6-2 Petrofac Training Cup defeat against Mark Warburton’s men last weekend.
It is unclear whether the player will return to side against Montrose this afternoon.
Hegarty was first-team coach at United in 2012 when Allan left the club under a cloud in the wake of a bitter contract dispute with manager Peter Houston – but does not expects his actions to have a major bearing on the result of today’s League Cup clash.
The Tannadice legend told Capital City Press: “I worked with Scotty Allan at Dundee United and of course he is an excellent player, he is a lovely passer of the ball, with wonderful vision and a great range.
“I know exactly what Scott can do, and we will cross that bridge when we come to it if he is selected.
“But we can’t focus too much on individuals, that won’t be what decides the match. I need to look at my own players and make sure they do the right things at the right times and, if we do that, we’ll give ourselves a chance.
“Scott Allan is an excellent player, but Alan Stubbs has assembled many very good footballers at Hibs and no matter what team Hibs put out it will be stern test for us.”
Instead, Hegarty insists Montrose’s only hope is to silence Easter Road early and trust his hungry young squad to produce the performance of their lives against “Premiership quality” Hibs.
Hegarty continued: “It’s a wonderful opportunity for our players to test themselves against a good side and hopefully give them a game. My players are hungry and I hope they stand up and say ‘look what I can do on this stage’.
“If we can get on the scoresheet you just never know what could happen. We can’t give Hibs a sniff at goal or any easy chances. We have to be solid and quiet the stadium.
“But we know the task ahead. They have quality players – if the truth be told, they should be in the Premiership.”
