Will Fish is delighted to have become a Hibernian mainstay over the past few months after fearing his loan move from Manchester United was not going to plan.
The 20-year-old centre-back joined the Easter Road club on a season-long deal last summer in a bid to increase his exposure to first-team football.
With Rocky Bushiri, Ryan Porteous and Paul Hanlon all ahead of him in the pecking order, Fish had to wait until January to make his first start – and even then it was a disaster as he was played out of position at right-back before being subbed at half-time in a 3-0 defeat at city rivals Hearts.
However, the sale of Porteous to Watford and a serious injury sustained by Bushiri paved the way for Fish to start each of Hibs’ last 11 matches.
“You have doubts, but I always had the backing of the staff,” he said when asked if he feared his move to Hibs was not working out. “They were always in dialogue with me and they said I would get my chance and they’ve stuck to their word.
“In football, you have to get a bit of luck. Porto left and Rocky got injured and I managed to get my chance, and I’ve done alright. The more games you play, the more experience you get and you feel more confident.
“I’ve enjoyed my time here massively. I’ve had some bumps along the road but I feel like I’ve come out the other side better for it. I’ve really enjoyed it and I owe a lot to Hibs for giving me this chance.”
Before joining Hibs, Fish had made only three first-team appearances – one as a sub for parent club United and two while on loan at Stockport last term. With that in mind, the 20-year-old has been grateful to have 33-year-old Hanlon to help guide him at Easter Road.
“Paul’s been great,” Fish said ahead of Saturday’s match at home to St Mirren. “You couldn’t ask for a better centre-half partner for my first few games in men’s football. On and off the pitch, he’s great.
“He helps me through the games and we discuss things together. He’s a top lad.”
Fish is contracted to United until 2025 but is expected to go on loan again next term.
“I don’t know,” he said when asked if he will return to Hibs. “I’m just focusing on the next five games and then we can take it from there and see what happens.
“I’ve still got time on my contract but I think everyone is on the same page that I need to go out and play men’s football again (next season) so that will be the plan.”
Rodgers salutes Celtic's 'Champions League mentality' in St. Johnstone rout
Brendan Rodgers paid tribute to Celtic's "Champions League mentality" in their 6-0 rout of St. Johnstone at McDiarmid Park.
Kyogo Furuhashi scored twice, while Paulo Bernardo, Callum McGregor, Daizen Maeda and Adam Idah were also on target for the Hoops, who warmed up for their midweek European trip to Borussia Dortmund in emphatic fashion.
The dominant victory moved Celtic back to the top of the Scottish Premiership table - ahead of Aberdeen on goal difference - as they continued their perfect start to the season, with a sixth win in as many games.
And Rodgers was pleased by the character his players demonstrated.
"I thought this was an opportunity to show our mentality," he told Premier Sports. "All the noise has been about Dortmund, but I wanted a Champions League mentality here, and I thought the boys controlled the game.
"We wanted to keep our rhythm going. You see some of the guys coming in this evening, like Valle coming in at left-back, showing his composure.
"Most were looking at it as a tick-box before Dortmund, but for me, it was to show their mentality. Everyone will be flying on Tuesday night, but I want to see how they do when they’re here, or other grounds. It’s a case of just focusing in on that.
"I thought the variety of our game was very good; everything you'd want from your team."
Looking ahead to Tuesday's clash with Bundesliga giants Dortmund, he added: "[They] are a good team with top players, so we can't get away from that.
"OK, they've lost one or two [players] from last year, but I always say we make sure we press, make sure we attack. It's a tough game, but we'll look forward to it."
St Johnstone 0-6 Celtic: Defending champions continue perfect start
Celtic stormed to the top of the Scottish Premiership with a thumping 6-0 win away at St Johnstone.
The defending champions thought they had taken the lead early on through Daizen Maeda, but VAR intervened due to a foul in the build-up.
Nevertheless, a brace from Kyogo Furuhashi and Paulo Bernardo's sumptuous strike virtually ended the contest at half-time.
There was to be no mercy in the second half though, as captain Callum McGregor added a fourth for Celtic shortly after the restart.
Maeda and substitute Adam Idah added further gloss to the scoreline to make it six league wins out of six for Brendan Rodgers' side so far this campaign and take them top, ahead of Aberdeen on goal difference.
St Johnstone are now just a point above second bottom in the table.
Data Debrief: Defence first
Celtic have kept a clean sheet in each of their last six games in the league.
Their last longer run of games without conceding a goal in the competition was a run of seven games from 26 April 2015 to 9 August 2015, so as well as their rampant attack, Rodgers' team have a mean defence, with St Johnston accumulating only 0.29 expected goals (xG) on Saturday.
With two assists in this match, meanwhile, Nicolas Kuhn now has four in total for the season, which is two more than any other player in the Scottish Premiership.
Dundee United 0-1 Rangers: Gers close gap to Celtic with narrow win
Rangers got back to winning ways with a 1-0 victory away to Dundee United on Sunday, which saw them climb to third in the Scottish Premiership.
Philippe Clement's side are now five points behind second-placed Aberdeen and league leaders Celtic, who inflicted their first defeat of the season last time out.
The match itself was one of few chances, with forward Tom Lawrence scoring the winning goal after just seven minutes.
The goal capped a flowing, attacking move from Rangers that saw Lawrence get on the end of some one-touch passing before carrying the ball through the penalty area and beyond the goalkeeper.
Dundee United were unable to offer much in the way of a comeback, with five off-target shots the sum total of their threat throughout the match.
The match did see 10 yellow cards shown, with Dundee United's Emmanuel Adegboyega's booking for a forceful challenge reviewed by VAR towards the end of the first half. The on-field decision stood, though the defender was substituted at the break.
Data Debrief: Rangers end away day woes
Goalscorer Lawrence had five shots in the match, which is a season-high in the league for any Rangers player.
The visitors will be pleased to get three points, having won just one of their previous seven away games prior to this - their worst run since 2016.
It also means they close some of the gap to Old Firm rivals Celtic, who had opened an eight-point buffer following a 2-0 home win over Hearts on Saturday.
The hosts, meanwhile, failed to register a single effort on target for the first time in a league game since 8 May 2022. Their opponents on that day? Rangers.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
