Porteous enjoying his ‘ clean slate’ down south
‘ Dalkeith Darren Dods’ feels he is flourishing at Watford without everyone in league knowing his name
BEING described as “the Scottish Bobby Moore” on social media last month by one excitable Watford supporter after another assured performance for the Vicarage Road club has not gone to the head of Ryan Porteous.
“It’s more like the Dalkeith Darren Dods, man,” he said after taking part in a Scotland training session at Lesser Hampden in Glasgow yesterday.
Yet, the comparison with World Cup- winning England captain and legendary West Ham centre- half Moore certainly highlights just how well Porteous has fared since moving down south in January.
The former Hibernian centre- half has – despite Slaven Bilic, the manager who signed him, getting sacked this month and being replaced by Chris Wilder – featured in all nine of the London outfit’s Championship matches since his £ 500,000 transfer.
The 23- year- old, who is hoping to start for the national team in their opening Euro 2024 qualifier against Cyprus at Hampden on Saturday, is certainly relishing the change of scene. He believes that he has developed as a footballer in the short time he has been down south.
“My first game [ against Reading at the Madjeski Stadium] couldn’t have gone much better,” he said.
“I scored in that and I settled in well thereafter.
“I’m playing alongside top centre- halves down there and that has helped as well. I think I’m coming back into this Scotland squad a better player. I feel as though I have improved. I am really enjoying my football again.
“Being taken out of my comfort zone was something
I’ve wanted for the last few years. I feel as though you can really kick on and improve as a player and as a person as well.
“It’s a physical league because you are playing Saturday- Tuesday. Some of the teams you play are quite direct. But I am used to that from playing in Scotland. I think I have been well suited to that style of football.
“Our team like to get the ball down and dominate possession. It’s been enjoyable. It was a change I needed in my career, to take me out of my comfort zone and put me in a changing room with a lot of different cultures. I have enjoyed that aspect.
“Listen, there are some players in our team who are top class like Joao Pedro and Ismaila Sarr, players who can really influence a game. I feel it’s a step up, but it’s not a step up to a degree where I felt shocked.”
Porteous, rightly or wrongly, developed a reputation for being a dirty player on the park and a bit of a daftie off it during his time with his boyhood heroes Hibs. He became, too, something of a hate figure for supporters of opposition teams, not least Rangers.
He has found playing in the English Championship, where nobody has any pre- conceived notions about him, to be refreshing. “I do feel it’s more of a clean slate for me,” he said. “I can get back to basics and not worry about anything else.
“It’s a different ball game for me down there from a personal point of view. I think that’s why I am enjoying it so much.” Porteous has got, with Scott McKenna and Jack Hendry both missing from the squad due to injuries, a very good chance of being named in the Scotland starting line- up to face Cyprus by manager Steve Clarke. He acquitted himself well on his international debut against Ukraine in Poland in September and helped his country record the draw they needed to top their Nations League section. He enjoyed silencing his many critics that evening. But he is now keen to build on that display and make more appearances for his country.
“I am a confident lad and a confident player,” he said. “That game, that first cap, was about shutting people up if you like. I had to prove to some that I could play at this level.
“I knew I could and the manager believed in me too. The manager had said loads of times that I was ready and he had no doubts when it came to putting me in. Playing alongside top players helps and it was a night I will remember forever.
“If I needed to prove anything then hopefully I did so in that game. It was a point proving exercise for me. But it was only one game and I won’t be getting carried away.
“This is the best Scotland side we’ve had in a long time and I want to learn from these guys because I am still learning my trade. I just want to turn up and do myself justice. My long- term goal is to win as many caps as I can. There’s not a feeling that compares to when you play for your country.”
Porteous has squared up to a few formidable strikers during the time he has been at Watford – but his fellow Scotland squad member Lyndon Dykes was possibly the most difficult forward he has faced.
There were doubts the Queens Park Rangers man would play again this season when he was admitted to hospital with pneumonia in January. But his compatriot is happy to confirm that he has fully recovered.
“He was chucking himself about,” he said. “He was a handful. It was good to see him back because there was probably a bit of a fear about whether he would make this camp. He is a massive player for us. Hopefully he can get back up to full speed and get in amongst the goals again.”
A sell- out 50,000- strong crowd is set to cram in to Hampden to watch the Group A match between Scotland and Cyprus on Saturday afternoon and Porteous knows, with more difficult encounters against Spain on Tuesday and then Norway and Georgia thereafter looming, that a victory is vital.
“It’s crucial we put points on the board,” he said. “It’s a tough group, but we’re in a fantastic place and we have two games at home to get us underway. It’s an exciting time to be around the national team and hopefully we can keep that going.”
This is the best Scotland side we’ve had in a long time and I want to learn from these guys because I am still learning my trade