‘Porteous has taken his game to a new level’
Easter Road assistant insists defender is thriving at Hibs
JOHN POTTER insists Ryan Porteous has taken his game to another level with Hibernian this season – and has backed the defender to shrug off his latest controversy.
The centre-back has never been far from the headlines in games against Rangers of late and was involved in Wednesday night’s pivotal moment once more.
Sent off against the Ibrox men earlier in the season, he followed that up with a postmatch dig at departed boss Steven Gerrard in the wake of the Premier Sports Cup victory over the Rangers.
This time, the 22-yearold was unhappy as he was penalised for a trip in the box on Ryan Kent that allowed Kemar Roofe to clinch a dramatic three points for the champions.
Public enemy No.1 as far as the visiting fans were concerned, they lapped up Porteous being at the heart of their success. But Potter, a defensive mentor to the youngster since taking over as Jack Ross’s assistant two years ago, is adamant the Scotland squad member will be able to brush off the latest flashpoint for the visit of Motherwell.
He said: “You let him get on with it. Look, he’s a strong boy, he’s pretty determined. I thought he was brilliant the other night, really good.
“There was an incident that happened that in my mind could have gone either way and it’s disappointing, but his actual performance was outstanding. He’ll be fine to go again against Motherwell.
“Do I think he has taken his game to another level? I do. I thought he was good last season. We kept a lot of clean sheets and as a unit we were good.
“I think individually he’s picked up this season. We would still like to keep more clean sheets and I think we can be better as a unit, defensively, but, individually, Ryan has been very good.”
Meanwhile,, Motherwell midfielder Sean Goss feels he is in the best place to finally kick on his career.
The 26-year-old has played nine games since joining Motherwell in August and feels he is developing already.
Goss started his career with Manchester United before signing for QPR in January 2017 but only played seven times for the west London club.
Following loan spells with Rangers and St Johnstone, he spent two years with Shrewsbury and is keen to push his career on at Fir Park.
“I came up after the season started and then missed a few weeks but since being back fit I am starting to feel better every week, enjoying my football, and hopefully I can keep improving on my performances,” the midfielder said. “That was one of the main attractions coming up here: getting regular games and building on what I have had in the past. I feel like the manager and the staff have been really good with me to get the best out of me, and I still have a lot to show.”
Manager Graham Alexander has utilised the left-sided player on the flank of his three-man midfield.
“It’s a bit of a new role for me, I have normally played in the middle of a three, a bit deeper, but I am enjoying the challenge,” Goss said.
Alexander has also given Goss and the rest of the Motherwell squad clear ideas on what is expected in terms of work rate.
“You have to have that other side of the game to you,” Goss said. “It’s something I have been working on a lot and the manager is really good at drilling that side of the game into us.”