Straight-talking Porteous has no fears going into Croatian crunch

IN AN age where most footballers are coached into backpedalling from bold statements, Ryan Porteous displays an impressive disdain for the bland or the straight bat.

Forthright and uncompromising, the Hibernian defender talks about football in much the same way as he plays.

And so, when reflecting after the drawn first leg of his club’s Europa Conference League qualifier against Rijeka, he offered a frank and bullish assessment of the tie.

Guilty of passing up the opportunities that would have yielded a comfortable victory and of giving up a preventable equaliser, Porteous acknowledged the flaws in Thursday’s display.

Yet, ahead of this week’s trip to Croatia, he sees no reason to be wary. ‘I thought it was a good performance,’ said Porteous.

‘It was one of those where if it was a league game we would have been disappointed not to have walked away two, three, 4-1 up.

‘The goal we lost was disappointing, defending our back post again and not stopping the cross but we can still take the positives from it.

‘We dominated the game in large parts and could have been three up, so we will go over there with confidence and the belief that we can win the tie.

‘They are a good team but, really, I see nothing in them that can frighten us.’

Aberdeen won handsomely in Rijeka back in 2015 only to struggle on a subsequent visit three years ago.

Yet mention of that first 3-0 Dons’ triumph is enough to prompt another burst of confidence from Porteous.

‘I can see why,’ he added. ‘Rijeka are a good team but they are nothing we should fear.

‘I don’t think they are any better than Celtic and Rangers, and I think we would fancy ourselves either at Easter Road or away from home.

‘We are disappointed not to go over there with a lead but from what we have seen and how we have played, we will travel with a lot of belief.’

A precocious defender with more than 100 club appearances to his name and aspirations to play at international level, the 22-year-old’s confidence is in keeping with horizons that stretch much further than Easter Road.

Back in January, the club rejected a bid in the region of £1million from Millwall, while more recently Galatasaray have been linked with a move for the centre-back.

It’s credit to Jack Ross’s management that neither he nor striker Kevin Nisbet — the subject of a failed move from Birmingham City — look to have agitated for a move this summer.

Both remain active, integral parts of the club’s bid to secure European football deep into the new season.

The sense that neither’s career has yet plateaued at Hibs is heightened by a look at Porteous’s international experience.

His 14 caps for the Scotland Under-21s side have yet to be accompanied by full honours but he was promoted to senior status by Steve Clarke during the Euro 2020 qualifiers.

Nisbet made the squad for the finals but is now competing in continental club competition for the first time.

Porteous (pictured) views it as a valuable learning ground.

‘I have learned a lot from international football,’ he admitted. ‘You know what to expect from the players, you know what to expect from the foreign referees.

‘I have learned about how you speak to foreign referees and what you claim for.

‘It is just a different way the game is played, it is not right or wrong. It is good to learn and develop from these kind of games.’ The immediate challenge is to shake off Thursday’s exertions and turn in a performance good enough to beat Ross County in today’s second league fixture of the season.

He added: ‘We have a relatively small squad compared to others but we have immense fitness within the group.

‘No one needed the pre-season because we were all flying from day one, ready for the European games and also ready for the league matches.

‘We had nine substitutes on Thursday and any one of them could have made an impact, so although it’s a small group, it is one that is ready to go.’