It’s a dog’s life for Pablo, but Ryan’s on fire
Ryan Porteous insists he will keep a full focus on football amid intense speculation on his future – even if his pet dog has long since switched off.
Stevie Clarke’s debut cap picked up from where he left off against Ukraine in Krakow with an outstanding performance in Dingwall to hoist the Hibees into fourth place in the table.
The plaudits rained down on Porteous after his fine show helped Scotland climb into Europe’s Nations’ League elite, but his biggest fan – pup Pablo – just wasn’t interested.
As well as a commanding defensive show, Porteous was the main instigator of the Edinburgh club’s attacking moves and grabbed the vital opener 25 seconds into the second half.
His form and impending freedom of contract is sure to have alerted bigger clubs on both sides of the border.
Hibs, meanwhile, will be determined to deal him in with a new contract.
Porteous said: “I have just been completely concentrating on football for a long time now.
“I have been solely focused on that for the past six months and it is paying off. I am getting into the Scotland squad and doing well and scoring today.
“The team really helps me as well. I have a lot of good people around me and the focus is solely on football.
“There have been conversations with the manager, but I am not going to tell you anything.
“I am just back from the Scotland trip and I’ve seen the dog – that’s about it. I don’t really get out much.
“My mum said he wasn’t interested in the Scotland game for some reason. I am gobsmacked.
“He is Pablo – Pablo Porteous. To get him to watch me, I might have to score two. He just wasn’t interested.”
Porteous admits the Dingwall performance capped off an unforgettable week, adding: “It is definitely up there with the best week of my career.
“To go away with Scotland, do well for your country and the country ending up where we wanted to be was fantastic
“The gaffer was quite hard on me when I came back and said it was back to reality now – Dingwall.
“I thought it was a fantastic performance, from front to back.”