Ryan Porteous hopes to sign off at Hibs with a fairytale ending by dumping Hearts out of the Scottish Cup as he opened up on getting out of the Scottish football 'fishbowl'
The Easter Road stopper looks set to depart the club before the end of the window as they look to bank some money for the defender who is out of contract in the summer. The Scotland international made it clear he would not be extending his current terms and keeping him until the end of the season would result in a free transfer elsewhere.
Porteous has not let talk about his future cross his mind as he continues to turn out for boss Lee Johnson despite all the speculation. He could play his last game in the derby with the Jambos on Sunday - and sees it as the perfect send-off should they come out victorious. He said: "You want to be the best you can be and if that was in Scotland I would choose it. But for me I think it isn’t. I think I can go elsewhere. You see a lot of players that have gone down south, John McGinn and Scott McKenna in recent years, and others who have gone abroad, Lewis Ferguson, Aaron Hickey, Jack Hendry.
READ MORE: Robbie Neilson names three key Hearts components as he sends 'no matter what happens' Hibs message
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“A lot of players that a lot of people said weren’t good enough have left Scotland. It is a fishbowl here. You get caught up in it.
"Some of those players might have gone abroad or gone away and they are not highlighted and targeted, and every mistake or every flaw isn’t maximised. I think that’s been the case with me."
The born and bred Hibee admits nothing would beat a derby victory. They lost 3-0 at Tynecastle just a few weeks ago and will be out for revenge and end any hopes of silverware heading to their rivals this term. He said: “If you were to write a fairytale ending then a win on Sunday is how it would be.
“But football is a strange thing and you don’t know what can happen from one day to the next. If we win would I want to stay on and see it through?
“It’s out of my hands because the club have made it clear, (chief executive) Ben Kensell has made it quite clear, he wants to cash in during this window. I think to not get anything would be a mistake for the club, it’s a business and if they don’t get the right offer then they’ll want to keep me to the end of the season.”
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