Hibs boss Lee Johnson hails Ryan Porteous and reveals his plans for defender

Lee Johnson has praised Hibs defender Ryan Porteous – and suggested that he sees the 23-year-old centre-back as integral to how he wants to play next season.

The defender is out of contract next summer and held talks with the club over a new deal during the season just completed but the two parties have so far failed to reach an agreement.

However he would appear to be at the forefront of the new manager’s plans for the upcoming campaign.

Speaking to several Hibs supporter podcasts, Johnson gave his thoughts on the Scot and his performances last term.

“Ryan is a tough player, a competitor – and he has some voice for a 23-year-old. It steps into over-aggressive at times but we want to give a player like that total clarity for when he can go and be aggressive,” the Easter Road boss explained.

"If there's a straight ball into a centre-forward I'm happy for him to go and shut it down 15-20 yards. It's those bits of clarity that the players need to make bold decisions.

"I want to try to remove the element of fear and blame by giving them that clarity.

"Ryan also has on-the-ball attributes. The last game of the season was a great example; I want my centre-halves to be able to carry the ball out and attack the space, and therefore you have a constant threat and waves of attacks going in at opponents.

”That's what we're trying to achieve; making sure that we have that numeracy in the right places as we try to score goals.”