Johnson hopes star defender will pen new deal

LEE JOHNSON remains hopeful that Ryan Porteous will sign a new deal with Hibernian after the defender scored the only goal of the game against 10-man Motherwell.

Porteous’ header 10 minutes after Connor Shields had been sent off for bringing him to the ground settled a competitive match and sent Hibs up to third in the table.

The defender is in a rich vein of form after making his Scotland debut in the recent match away to Ukraine but is out of contract at the end of the season.

Johnson said there is no immediate pressure on the 23-year-old to pen an extension but is aware that the clock is ticking. ‘I think at the moment that (goal) epitomises him; committed, winning challenges and a goal threat as well in the box,’ said the Hibs manager. ‘We’ve offered him a really good contract, a strong one. There is no immediate pressure from me for an answer but as we near January the screw has to turn on that a little bit.

‘We think the right thing for Hibs is obviously securing Ryan and that’s why we’ve made such a strong offer but if not the world moves on and we’ll make sure we have a succession plan.’

Motherwell manager Steven Hammell was frustrated with an unpunished Joe Newell tackle on Blair Spittal that left the forward requiring hospital treatment, as well as with the decision not to award his team a second-half penalty for a foul on Shields.

He said: ‘I felt we deserved to take something from the game. We had a strong penalty claim. You watch it back and it is a penalty. Another one of the big moments of the match that didn’t go our way. Connor Shields turns the ball around the corner and gets taken out.’