Hibs' Dylan McGeouch says: It's time to sort out my future

Dylan McGeouch was happy to put his future plans on ice in order to finally win his first international cap. Now he's off the mark he will return to Scotland to consider his options.

Dylan McGeouch won his first cap for Scotland against Peru last week. Picture: AFP/Getty.

Rangers are the latest club reported to be interested in signing the out-of-contract Hibs midfielder. But Neil Lennon is desperate to keep the player at Easter Road and has offered a lucrative new contract.

“I have just put it all on hold,” the player said. “I knew I was coming away with the international squad so I just wanted to get that out of the way and hopefully get a few caps. I have obviously done that now.

“I will go back home after these games, sit down with my representatives and take it from there,” he added. “I am not in a rush to make any decision just now. It has all been about trying to win my first international cap and enjoying my first international experience. I will worry about what the future holds at a later date.”

McGeouch put behind him the frustration of having to drop out of Scotland’s previous double-header, against Costa Rica and Hungary, when making a bleated debut in last week’s 2-0 defeat to Peru.

The midfielder was one of a trio of Hibs players, also comprising fellow debutant Lewis Stevenson and John McGinn, who started a Scotland match together, the first time this has happened since 1956, when Tommy Younger, LawrieReilly and Gordon Smith all played in a 1-1 draw against England. The presence of two Easter Road team-mates helped McGeouch settle.

“We have played together a lot this season and last season as well,” he said. “For the three of us to play together in South America against Peru was excellent. It was a great occasion for Lewis and I because we both won our first caps. John has had a few now. Having them there really helped me.”

It also made up for the anguish of missing out in March, when a niggling groin injury scuppered his chances of an earlier international breakthrough. “That was a sore one,” he said, in reference to having to pull out of the squad before McLeish’s first match in charge against Costa Rica. “I was obviously delighted to get the call up, but I had a wee niggle in training during the week so I had to pull out. I was absolutely devastated. But I had the chance to come again and get my first cap and I did that. I have been waiting on it for a few months, because I had to pull out of the last squad. It is great to think that I have finally done it.

“It has been well documented that there have been a few calls-offs, but it was a great occasion for boys to come in and get some experience. Looking forward to the Nations League campaign it can only benefit Scotland.”