For the rest of December, we’ll be profiling 20 of the most promising Scottish talents who we believe will have defining 2020’s. Hibs’ Ryan Porteous is next on our list.
After being sidelined for over half of 2019 with injury, Porteous has made his return to the Hibs backline in the late autumn and winter. He’s been a regular pick under new manager Jack Ross.
With his fitness issues behind him, Porteous can look forward to a bright 2020.
Learning from mistakes
Strong in the air, physical in the tackle and a real leader despite only being 20-years-old, Porteous is a warrior for Hibs. Coming through the ranks at Easter Road, he’s always been touted as a future star.
He’s starting to realise that potential and will be mainstay at the club for years to come if he wants to be. That’s not to say there aren’t things for the defender to learn anymore.
Things like diving into dangerous tackles and decision making are things he can improve upon. This was shown most evidently in Hibs’ 3-0 loss to Rangers, where he lunged into Borna Barisic with the game already gone.
Ross is aware of the things he needs to iron out but knows it’s only natural for things like this to crop up in someone as young as Porteous.
“It’s an error of judgement from him but I am not going to hang him out to dry because he is a young man,” he said. “People say young men make mistakes. You make mistakes all through your life and your career.
“It’s how you react and learn from them, that will be the key thing for Ryan. It’s about how he reacts because it obviously left us in an even more difficult position in the game.
“I like him a lot. It’s not brushing it under the carpet. I’ve spoken to him and will do again. It’s about how he learns from it.”
Heir to the Hibs captaincy
With experienced men in Paul Hanlon and Darren McGregor beside him, Porteous has the perfect mentors to learn from. These two men are Hibs stars and will be key to the young defender’s development.
Even outwith central defence you have Lewis Stevenson and David Gray, two undisputed Hibs legends. It’s an experienced backline and something which Porteous will lean off.
A diehard Hibee himself, Porteous is surely the heir to the Hibs captaincy. He’s fierce out on the park and has shown his leadership qualities at youth level for both Scotland and Hibs.
On the senior side of things though, 2020 is big. A Scotland call-up shows that regular international recognition isn’t too far away whilst the year should also give him a clean run in the Hibs first-team again.
He’s one of Scotland’s most promising stars and 2020 could see Porteous really make his name in the senior game.