Mcnulty the hardest opponent I faced, says Saints defender Mccarthy

St Mirren defender Conor Mccarthy has hailed Hibs striker Marc Mcnulty as the toughest player he faced during the season.

Centre-back Mccarthy says the on-loan Reading player caused him more problems in half an hour than Celtic forward Odsonne Edouard and Rangers hitman Jermain Defoe managed in a full match.

The Irishman played and scored for St Mirren in a 2-2 draw at Easter Road in February, with Mcnulty, pictured, coming off the bench on the hour mark.

Mccarthy joined the Paisley club from Cork City in January and despite Defoe scoring the winner for Rangers on his debut, with Edouard also netting in a 5-0 defeat at Parkhead, it was the Hibs man who left the biggest impression.

“I played against Marc Mcnulty at Hibs and he had very good movement and awareness,” he told the Glasgow Times.

“Some other strikers are more physical and enjoy that type of battle so, as a defender, I enjoy that side of the game. But Mcnulty did a lot of dropping short to go in behind and I felt that was something I can try and get better at in future. “Hewasprobablythehardest player to play against.” Mccarthy was discussing the Hibs striker alongside Defoe and Edouard, whom he also rates highly. “I haven’t played against Alfredo Morelos. When I played against Rangers it was Jermain Defoe who started,” he said. “What struck me was his movement, he was always on the last shoulder looking for that chance.

“Against the likes of Celtic and Rangers we play quite deep so it denies them a bit of space, so I don’t think Odsonne Edouard dropped too deep into midfield to get the ball and they weren’t really up against us as centre-backs at Celtic.

“I know, of course, that if it was a more expansive game I’d have an awful lot more problems to deal with.”