Lee Johnson explains Ryan Porteous position switch and how Hibs can become 'a force to be reckoned with'

Hibs manager Lee Johnston will be without Ryan Porteous for the upcoming capital derby but he believes that there were positives to extrapolate from his team’s performance against Rangers at Ibrox, stating that his team should be a “force to be reckoned with” once all his top players are back to full speed.

Hibs manager Lee Johnson applauds the away fans at full time after the 3-2 defeat to Rangers at Ibrox. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

Porteous headed home the early opener as he was utilised in midfield and while Johnston would consider keeping him there, he will not be available at Tynecastle on January 2 after a second-half yellow card pushed the want-away star over the points threshold and activated a ban.

“Obviously that’s a negative but football seems to be throwing these things at us at the moment,” said the Hibs boss. “I thought he did extremely well. It might have raised a few eyebrows, me putting him in midfield, but I thought he filled the gaps well. He’s competitive in there, a real athlete physically and he’s good on the ball. It was another good performance from a player who has shown a lot of commitment in difficult circumstances.”

But Kevin Nisbet’s return to goalscoring form, breaking away to get on the scoresheet for the first time since Boxing Day last year, was a source of positivity.

“It’s massive to have him back. A club with our resources, you can't have your best players not fit. It is as simple as that. I would have loved to have had a pre-season with this squad but we didn't have that so we are still building our overall picture and Nizzy is part of that.

“When you have a Scotland international at a club like this then it's important that he is fit. He has done extremely well. I'm delighted for him. The physio team deserves a lot of credit for accelerating his comeback. He deserved that goal and worked hard but, at the same time, he will continue to improve the longer time goes on.”

The opposite could be said of the team at Ibrox as they lost their 2-1 half-time lead, eventually succumbing 3-2 to the home side.

“We faded a little bit physically and our clearances became less solid, less assured. The [second] goal from the corner was a frustrating one to concede but I think their third one is a fantastic goal. It was a great ball, and an easy finish.

“We have to focus on the positives, we have some good players coming back to fitness and in the first half I thought we were outstanding and unlucky not to go 3-1 up when Elie Youan had the strike.

“We countered well, we were assured in our tidy up play, the boys put their bodies on the line and we were compact and had that positional strength. We controlled a lot of the game off the ball. So, it was disappointing but also encouraging in terms of giving us a performance to build on.

“When we get good players 90-minute fit, we will be a force to be reckoned with in the division. We have just got to continue working hard. You saw some of the work from the last two or three weeks in that performance and most of the lads will be disappointed but we know they put in a lot of effort and played well today.”