Hibs boss Jack Ross believes Ryan Porteous will be in Steve Clarke's Scotland thoughts and warns there is no margin for error on domestic duty

Once again absent from Steve Clarke’s most recent Scotland squad, Hibs’ Ryan Porteous will head to Ibrox on Sunday looking to deliver the kind of performance capable of convincing the national boss that he is worthy of greater consideration in the future.

The 22-year-old defender, who has made a reliable start to the season, is unlikely to be offered a warm welcome by the home fans who refuse to move on from past grievances, but that tends to bring out the best in a young man unfazed by the ill-will that provides meetings between the sides an extra layer of interest.

He has been sent off, stamped on and been slammed by Rangers boss Steven Gerrard for suggesting James Tavernier is a bad loser. He was verbally slaughtered and physically snubbed. But Porteous will not care two hoots whether his opponents shake his hand on Sunday. He will settle for them providing a platform on which he can shine.

The primary target is a win, which would allow the Easter Road side to leapfrog their hosts and, depending on the outcome of the Hearts v Motherwell match on Saturday, take them top of the Premiership.

Rangers' Alfredo Morelos was charged with violent conduct for his stamp on Hibs' Ryan Porteous during an ill-tempered clash last season. Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group

But, his gaffer Jack Ross is backing him to deliver the form worthy of an international recall.

Porteous had been involved in meet-ups in the build up to the Euros but he was omitted from the final squad.

That has only made him hungrier and now, with even more first team experience, another solid showing against the best in the league will do no harm as he attempts to prove to Clarke that he has matured and evolved as a player.

“My conversations with Steve are usually prompted by him calling about bringing a player in late, like Paul [McGinn], or when he was first bringing Kevin [Nisbet] into the squad,” said Ross.

“Other than that I’ll leave Steve to do his job because my job is to make players as good as they can be for this club but if Ryan maintains the consistency he has shown so far this season, he will very much put himself in Steve’s thoughts.

“I think he already is. It’s just that consistency of performance and I do think he has grown again in that regard.”

An ever-present in the Hibs team that has chalked up a clean sheet in European and domestic competition this term, a further four shut-outs in the first seven league games have provided a solid foundation for the Leith side who understand the magnitude of their task as more clubs push for supremacy.

“It means there’s no real margin for error, which is a good thing,” adds Ross. “It encourages standards to be high because we know that if we dip below them things get difficult. We need to make sure that when we don't play well, which will happen at times, we still find a way to pick up points.

“That was something that ultimately didn’t cost us last season in terms of where we finished but we had some slip ups along the way. We might still lose games, of course we will, but I think there are indications we have improved again. We need to keep doing that .

“But it is a tough league this season, an exciting league.”

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