Nick Montgomery expressed “pride” in Jair Tavares over the way the Portuguese winger has seized his second chance at Hibernian after being frozen out under previous boss Lee Johnson.

The 22-year-old spoke this week of the “mental devastation” he endured over his lack of game time following his move to the cinch Premiership club from Benfica in the summer of 2022.

Tavares made just nine appearances for Johnson last term and featured only twice this calendar year – both times as a late sub – before the Englishman was sacked in late August.

However, the winger has enjoyed a remarkable resurgence since Montgomery’s appointment in September, featuring in nine of the current manager’s 11 games in charge and starting each of the last five.

“Jair is a great example of a young player moving to a club and things not going as planned,” said Montgomery. “No doubt he’s had some tough times but the first thing I said to him when I came in was ‘you have to forget the past, you can’t have a victim mentality because if you do, it’s really hard to pick yourself up’.

“I think he’s been growing week by week with his confidence and I’ve been really proud of Jair.

“I think now people are really starting to see the ability he has. He’s a real team player, he’s working his socks off, and he’s been outstanding ever since he came back into the team.

“He’s a great story for any player, young or old, who is thinking their career at a club is finished. A change of manager or whatever it may be, and all of a sudden you get an opportunity and you have to grab it with both hands. I think he’s done that.”

Tavares had not kicked a competitive ball this term before Montgomery put him on as a sub in his first game in charge away to Kilmarnock. Asked why he felt compelled to give the winger a chance, the manager said: “I came in with an open mind to see what the players did in training, knowing their situations before I came in but not having any bias over that.

“Jair’s effort in training has always been very good. I think it was clear at the start he was lacking a bit of confidence and belief and a clear instruction of what was needed from him in the team.

“But he’s really receptive, an intelligent footballer and a real hard worker, and I think you can see he’s getting better all the time.

“I think he’s got a lot more to come. He’s got a lot to improve on but when you don’t play for a long time, sometimes it takes a couple of games to get that game awareness and full confidence. Right now he’s on an upward trajectory and we all hope that continues.”

Hibs head to Dundee on Sunday looking to leapfrog their hosts and climb into the top six after an inconsistent start to the season. Asked about his plans for the January transfer window, Montgomery said: “We don’t know what’s going to happen. We are always on the lookout for potential future Hibs players, whether that’s in January or the summer.

“That’s something we monitor on a weekly basis. Right now, I’ve no idea what’s going to happen over December. We’ve got a couple of players coming back from injury and we’re hoping in January-February we’ll have a few more back in full training, Chris Cadden, Harry McKirdy and Jake Doyle-Hayes, so we have got players on the horizon coming back to full fitness.

“They will be like new signings if we can get them back on the park.”

Malky Mackay was disappointed Ross County did not leave Easter Road with a victory after they fought back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Hibernian.

The Staggies looked to be staring at defeat when they trailed to goals from Elie Youan and Jair Tavares.

But they roared back strongly to claim a point courtesy of an Allan Delferriere own goal and a strike from substitute Jordan White.

Mackay was pleased with the spirit his team showed to get a third successive away draw but he felt they could have claimed all three points after Ryan Leak and Will Nightingale both missed late chances to win it.

“I’ve got mixed feelings,” said Mackay. “I’m delighted in the performance and comeback. I’m slightly disappointed we didn’t win the game.

“In the first half we were excellent and controlled a lot of the game. We didn’t quite pull the trigger and I was really disappointed to lose the deflection before half-time because it changed things when the crowd were starting to get restless.

“Second half we started well, lost a good goal from their point of view and at 2-0 you think ‘this could get away from us here’.

“But we were brave and continued to play and find openings and we eventually got the goals. I’m disappointed because we had another couple of great chances near the end to win it.”

Hibs boss Nick Montgomery rued his team’s performance and the way they squandered a position of command ahead of this weekend’s Viaplay Cup semi-final against Aberdeen.

“I’m disappointed and frustrated,” he said. “We failed to manage the game properly. I’m disappointed in the display and result.

“Jair scored his first goal for the club, which was a fantastic moment for him, but we have to be disappointed with the goals we gave away but credit to Ross County for keeping going and throwing bodies in the box. We didn’t deal with that as well as we should.

“We felt frustration from the fans. We were winning 2-0, not playing well but if you get three points you move forward. It feels like we’ve thrown two points away but we have to move on and get ready for a big game on Saturday.”

Hibs appeared to lose their way after Montgomery made three substitutions midway through the second half.

“I wanted to get fresh legs on,” said the manager. “Some changes were enforced, some I felt would give us energy after a tough game on the weekend.

“You don’t want to risk players carrying knocks but I take full responsibility for the team selection and subs. We’ll review the game tomorrow.

“Maybe we could have been more prepared when the subs came on but that’s something we can address. I take responsibility for the team, the subs and a disappointing result.”

It emerged before the match that billionaire Bournemouth owner Bill Foley has begun talks aimed at investing in Hibs.

“I’m not going to comment on speculation, that’s for the board and the CEO and the owners,” said Montgomery. “All I’m concentrating on is football.

“Of course any club getting investment is probably looked on as a positive but it’s not right for me to comment on any speculation.”

Jair Tavares scored his first goal for Hibernian but it was not enough to secure victory as Ross County fought back from 2-0 down to claim a 2-2 draw in a dramatic cinch Premiership match at Easter Road.

The 22-year-old Portuguese winger has enjoyed a new lease of life under recently-installed manager Nick Montgomery and he appeared to have the Hibees on course for a win that would have lifted them into the top half of the table when he added to Elie Youan’s deflected first-half strike.

But an own goal from Allan Delferriere and a superb finish by substitute Jordan White in the closing 20 minutes earned County a third successive away draw.

Hibs boss Montgomery made four changes to the side that started Saturday’s 0-0 draw at home to Celtic. Goalkeeper Jojo Wollacott came in for his first league appearance, with David Marshall dropping to the bench, while Jordan Obita, Joe Newell and Martin Boyle made way for Lewis Stevenson, Dylan Levitt and Adam Le Fondre.

County made two alterations to the team that drew 3-3 at Motherwell last weekend as Ben Purrington and Kyle Turner replaced George Harmon and Yan Dhanda.

Hibs threatened in the 11th minute when Youan got in behind and crossed from the right, forcing James Brown to clear over his own crossbar as Dylan Vente raced in to try and connect on the edge of the six-yard box.

Another County defender had to make an important intervention 11 minutes later when Ryan Leak blocked Tavares’ shot from a Youan cutback after an excellent build-up down the right.

The Staggies almost took the lead with their first notable foray into the Hibs box in the 25th minute when Turner flashed a ferocious angled shot just beyond the far post after Simon Murray laid Brown’s pass off into his path.

At the other end, Le Fondre saw a powerful low shot from the edge of the box run agonisingly wide of Ross Laidlaw’s left-hand post.

Hibs made the breakthrough in the 42nd minute when Youan’s shot from just outside the box deflected off Purrington and eluded Laidlaw.

And the hosts looked to be well on their way to securing the three points eight minutes into the second half when Tavares received a pass from Levitt and drove forward before sending a firm right-footed shot beyond Laidlaw from the edge of the box.

The goal was allowed to stand following a VAR check for offside, much to the delight of the former Benfica winger whose Hibs career appeared to have petered out following a difficult first season in Scotland.

Staring down the barrel of defeat, County found some resistance in the closing stages. They pulled one back in the 74th minute when Hibs substitute Delferriere inadvertently turned the ball into his own net after Wollacott failed to deal with a cross from substitute Dhanda.

And the Staggies left the home support exasperated in the 82nd minute when White spun in the box and fired high into the net after excellent work by Murray on the right to set him up.