Big interview: Hibs’ Marc McNulty on his transfer deadline-day nightmare

Marc McNulty has scored twice in his first two starts for Hibs

Although the Evening News first revealed on January 29 that the striker was in the frame to move to Easter Road, it was only confirmed a couple of hours before the midnight deadline three weeks ago that he had signed a loan deal until the end of the season.

Having fallen out of favour under Reading manager Jose Gomes, McNulty was relieved when his coveted move to Edinburgh finally got the go-ahead after fearing it was going to collapse amid an intense period of negotiations between all parties.

“It was a bit of a nightmare, to be honest,” the 26-year-old former Livingston player told the Evening News.

“I wish the general public could see some of the stuff that goes on in the transfer window, especially on the last day. For myself personally, it was a case of waiting by the phone, phoning this person, phoning that person, it’s off, it’s back on, they’ve changed this... It’s very frustrating.

“You don’t truly understand the ins and outs of it until you go through it. It’s not great but it’s part and parcel of football. By the end of it, I was just grateful that I was on the flight up the road to make it happen.

“It was very last minute. My flight left London about 9pm on deadline day, so it was a nervy day. The paperwork had been faxed to Reading so I was able to sign some stuff down there before I flew up. Hibs told me they were announcing it at 10pm but my flight got delayed so it was actually announced while I was in the air. By the time I landed, I had loads of messages and phone calls because I hadn’t told a lot of people I was signing for Hibs.”

McNulty is growing accustomed to the unpredictable nature of professional football. After his impressive form with Coventry City helped him land a four-year deal with Reading last summer, he was perhaps entitled to feel a sense of contentment that his immediate future was taken care of and he could start laying down roots with his young family in Berkshire.

“It’s difficult because we’d just sorted a house to live in down the road and were starting to feel settled thinking we were going to be there for a while because I’d signed a four-year deal at Reading,” he explained. “But things change so quickly. A couple of months down the line, you get told you can go. My missus has been brilliant. She stayed down there by herself and packed up the whole house and stuff like that. It’s tough but it’s part and parcel of being a footballer.”

Although enjoying his time at Hibs, McNulty is braced for another period of flux in a few months’ time when his loan expires. “I’ve now got another period of uncertainty because I don’t know where I’ll be beyond the summer,” he said. “It’s not ideal but that’s how football works. I’ve just got to focus on making sure I’m in the team and scoring goals, and if I’m doing that I’m sure I’ll be fine come the summer.

“I just have to concentrate on the fact I’m here until the summer and then I’ll review the situation. There’s no point in looking too far ahead and thinking about all the ifs and buts at this stage. I’m just trying to get my head down and work hard until the end of the season and then I’m sure everything will take care of itself after that.”

After starting only six games for Reading and scoring only once in the first six months of the season, McNulty has thrived on being given more prominence in his early weeks at Hibs. The result has been two goals in his first two starts, at home to Raith Rovers and Hamilton Accies.

“I had to go and play some football and get back scoring again and feeling good,” he said. “Coming back up to Scotland has been great for me. We obviously had a tough couple of games to start with (against Aberdeen and Celtic) but they were enjoyable to play in. It’s been good to get a couple of wins in our last two games and also to get my first goals. As a striker, you want to get your first goal as soon as you can, so luckily I got it quite early.”

McNulty arrived at Hibs when Eddie May and Grant Murray were in temporary charge following the departure of Neil Lennon. He has enjoyed his first week of working under new head coach Paul Heckingbottom. “It can be challenging coming to a new team and trying to settle in quickly but the boys have been great with me,” he said. “Grant and Eddie were great with me when I first came in and the new manager has come in and he’s been great to work with. He’s been brilliant, really good. The lads are really enjoying working with him. Tactically, he’s very good. He’s got his way of playing and he gets his message across clearly – it’s going to be exciting.

“The thing that sticks out for me is that he’s a very good coach. A lot of managers sometimes are not so hands on but this manager is very hands on. He does a lot of the coaching and a lot of tactical work. It’s really interesting, you’re learning something every day.”