Ex-Hibs ace Danny Swanson keen to stay in Premiership but admits current situation is ‘worrying’

Danny Swanson in action for Hibs in 2017. Pic: SNS Group Paul Devlin

Like many footballers up and down the country who are currently without a club in the midst of a global pandemic, Danny Swanson is uncertain what the future holds.

Having returned to St Johnstone for a third time two years ago, the midfielder was among a number of players released by the Perth club last month.

Injury and the form of others combined to keep him on the fringes last season, making just three Premiership starts before the coronavirus-enforced shutdown, but having established himself in the top flight over a number of years, the former Dundee United, Hearts and Hibs playmaker is keen to remain there.

The 33-year-old believes he still has a lot to offer, and while there has been interest, with talks scheduled to place next week, his future remains unresolved as the calendar moves towards July.

With the health crisis placing Scottish football clubs into financial hardship, Swanson admits that being one of the players currently on the outside looking in is a worry.

“It’s crazy. Like a lot of boys I’ve not been in this position before. It’s just a bit worrying because a lot of teams aren’t doing much,” he said.

“Time will tell I suppose. I’m quite confident I’ll get something sorted. I’m just keeping myself fit and looking to see what happens. Last season didn’t go too great, but I’ve proven myself before in this league, and I want to stay in the league for another couple of years at least.”

With most Premiership clubs now back in pre-season training ahead of the proposed start of the new league campaign on August 1, Swanson is hopeful that talks scheduled for next week will provide some clarity on where his own future lies.

“I’m hopefully going to speak to a couple of teams in Scotland next week, and there was another team down south that were quite keen before the lockdown but I’ve not heard much,” he said. “There’s just a couple of teams up here I’m going to speak to at the moment, but nothing concrete.”

For the time being, Swanson is just keeping himself in the best shape possible for the day he gets signed up.

“I’m doing a wee bit of training on my own. Same old since the whole lockdown thing started. I’m getting a bit bored of it now, but hopefully it’s nearing the end,” he added.