RYAN PORTEOUS is one of the best young defenders in Scotland.
He shouldn’t just be a late call-up for the
Scotland squad when others pull out — he should be in there from the get-go.
He shouldn’t just be satisfied with pulling on that
Hibs jersey — he should have lofty ambitions of getting to the
English Premier League and making himself a fortune by playing at the highest level possible.
I can’t be any clearer when I say Porteous is a talent with so much to his game that can be liked and admired.
Quick, good on the ball, he can pass it, he can head it, he’s strong as an ox and has a tremendous will to win.
But would I bet my last fiver on him fulfilling that potential? I’m sorry, but the answer to that question is a definite no.
I’m not saying this to have a go at the boy.
In fact, I genuinely hope he reads this column and takes on board what I’m saying about him because I’d love nothing more than to see him make the best of himself.
I watch the way he conducts himself and it annoys the life out of me.
He’s a Hibs fan, we get it. He doesn’t like Rangers? Okay, that’s fine.
But he’s also a professional footballer and it’s high time he learned to grow up and start acting like one.
Listen, I’m first to enjoy a bit of banter and I don’t have any problem with people showing their personality. In fact, I’d always encourage it.
But that’s not what’s happening with Porteous. It’s not a laugh and a joke with him.
He’s stepping onto a football park and behaving in a way that’s letting down his club, his manager, his supporters and his team-mates.
But you know what? The one person he’s killing more than anybody is HIMSELF.
His comments after
Hibs beat Rangers in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final at Hampden were quite funny, sure.
But did that do Hibs any favours
on Wednesday night against Rangers at Easter Road? Did it hell.
The red card he got at Ibrox earlier this season. Did that help the team that afternoon? Of course it didn’t.
4
Kris reckons Porteous has plenty of raw materials to work with
He went out on Wednesday and did everything he could to draw attention to himself in the first 20 minutes.
In trying to get Gers striker
Alfredo Morelos booked, all he was doing was annoying referee John Beaton.
The penalty was a stonewaller and I don’t care what anyone else says.
But Beaton thought long and hard about the incident before pointing to the spot.
Maybe if Porteous hadn’t been noising him up all game he might have looked at it differently.
That’s why I think the boy needs to wise up. The penny needs to drop with him that acting the hard man and clever in front of the cameras is only going to backfire.
Put it this way, do you think Steven Gerrard cares about what he was saying in front of the TV cameras at Hampden?
Let me assure you, he couldn’t have cared any less. Gerrard has been over the course so many times that he would have forgotten about Porteous.
The worry I’ve got is that clubs and scouts looking at him will feel the same.
Players can have all the best attributes in the world — but if people within the game believe there is any flaw, then he’s got no chance.
It would be a crying shame if that’s how things turned out but there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that he’s not doing himself any favours.
Jack Ross has defended him time and again and that’s because he’s a good manager.
But privately he’ll be having quiet words with Porteous and trying to get into his head.
It’s okay to be aggressive and on the front foot as a defender. But I watch him and it’s like he’s literally going out of his way to act tough.
Trust me when I say this, the toughest defenders don’t smash you and then lean over you and scream in your face.
From my experience, they say nothing, turn and get on with the game. Porteous needs to learn that.
He needs to realise that behaving like a Hibs fan out on the pitch isn’t going to get him to where he should be going.
I’ll say it again, he should be going to the top. He’s good enough in my eyes.
He ticks all the boxes when it comes to what a defender needs to make it at the highest level.
But he needs to get his head straight. If he does, there could be no stopping him.
He should be thinking about how Scotland are just two games away from making it to the World Cup and have it in his head that, if they do, he’s going to be on the plane.
You can’t tell me
Jack Hendry is a better player.
But right now he’s a player Steve Clarke looks at and knows he can trust — and he WON’T feel the same about Porteous.
It’s all down to the player himself. If he wants to play at Hibs all his days and run around like a Hibee when he steps onto the Easter Road pitch, then that’s up to him.
If he sees himself as the next Paul Hanlon or Lewis Stevenson, then fair enough.
But I genuinely believe he’s got the potential to be better than that.
I just hope he realises that himself, before it’s too late.
