Hibs star's derby sidestep ranked with world's best

Published on Saturday 28 November 2009 10:02

AT the start of this season, David Wotherspoon was a virtual unknown outwith the confines of Easter Road. Today, though, the 19-year-old Hibs star finds himself rubbing shoulders with the likes of Barcelona's Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Gonzalo Higuain of Real Madrid.

It's all thanks to a moment of magic captured by television cameras and highlighted in the "Showboat" segment of Sky's Soccer AM, the Easter Road kid neatly sidestepping Michael Stewart, leaving the Hearts skipper to crash into the advertising hoardings at the side of the pitch at Hearts' Tynecastle home.

The memory still brings a smile to the face of the youngster as does the recognition, via the small screen, the incident has accorded him.

He said: "I was actually in Azerbaijan with the Scotland Under-21 squad when members of my family started texting me to tell me I was on Showboat sandwiched between the likes of Ibrahimovic and Higuain.

"I've since seen it on You Tube but I remember the moment well. Michael Stewart was coming across to try to block my pass up the line, I just caught him out of the corner of my eye.

"I tuned inside and he went right into the boards, I just heard the thud, it was quite funny. It was a bit of a laugh but I don't think Michael was too happy. I didn't even speak to him afterwards as I thought he wouldn't be in the best of moods."

• Watch Wotherspoon's trick on YouTube

It may be a moment to treasure but Wotherspoon admitted he never thought he'd find himself the centre of attraction in a television feature designed to showcase the skills of the world's best football players.

A member of Hibs' Under-19 side which swept to an unprecedented League and Cup double last season, Wotherspoon admitted: "At the start of the season, what would have made it a good year for me would have been just to be around the first team, training with them.

"I was looking to be on the bench quite a lot, to be getting bits of games as a substitute and being eased into it."

Instead, Wotherspoon finds himself having featured in all but one of Hibs' matches so far, playing his part as John Hughes' side have worked their way to third place in the SPL table. And the fact he has done so in a team which has done so well rather than winning his place through the failure of others, has made his rise from relative obscurity to becoming a face familiar to fans of all clubs all the more satisfying.

He said: "It's been tremendous to get as many games as I have. I've been delighted with the way things have been going and the way I have been playing.

"To be playing in the first team on a regular basis is a real achievement for me but now I have to hope to keep that going.

"You feel confident going into a team which is playing well, when there are good players around you giving you real encouragement which I get from everyone, even people off the pitch and my family.

"I've been getting a bit more recognition but I try to keep my feet on the ground and to keep playing away. When I came from Perth to Edinburgh a lot of my friends went to Glasgow to go to university so I don't see them so often but when I do they are delighted with what I have been doing."

But, as good as it has been, Wotherspoon revealed it can get even better both individually and collectively as he and his team-mates look to build on their impressive start to the season. He said: "I think we can do a lot better, there's been a few matches we haven't performed as well as we could and we know we can up our game again.

"Third place, at the moment, is really good and I think we can keep that position and maybe even challenge at the top of the table.

"At the moment, though, we are happy with what we are doing and we're trying to make third place comfortable." Although it can be disconcerting for any player, never mind a youngster who has just been handed a first-team deal, to find a change at the top with Hughes replacing Mixu Paatelainen only weeks after Wotherspoon and six of his Under-19 colleagues were awarded contracts, he revealed everyone is enjoying working under their new manager.

He said: "I'd read the gaffer was getting the job and knew from his background that he had players at Falkirk he put into the team and gave them an opportunity at a young age. I spoke to some of the Falkirk boys when I was away with Scotland and they told me he was a good character, that he liked to push youngsters. We saw that right away when he came in, he got right down to business encouraging us to do well.

"He knew the name of everyone about the place, even the youngsters who do not come in regularly which was a great encouragement for all of us."

Although Wotherspoon has become the best known of the kids thrust into Hibs' first-team squad, he predicted it won't be long before Easter Road fans learn the names of others as they begin to make the grade.

He said: "There are plenty more to come. Kurtis Byrne has been getting a game now and again. He did really well last season in helping us to the double. When he doesn't get on the bench he is sometimes a bit disappointed but he keeps his head up and works hard in training.

"Paul Hanlon has done really well when away with Scotland although he is not playing as many games for Hibs as he could be and there are many others trying to get up there. We've been lucky with injuries so far this season but we are coming to that stage through the winter when people will be picking up niggles and, you'd imagine, others could well get their chance."

&#149 GOALS from David Love and Fergus Bell weren't enough to prevent Hibs' Under-19 side going down 3-2 away to St Mirren.