Oli Shaw speaks on Hibs exit and the shock of Leeann Dempster's best in Europe praise

Ol Shaw has spoken on his Hibs exit. Picture: SNS

When Oli Shaw completed his move from Hibs to Ross County on Wednesday in time to be named in the squad against Hearts that evening the 'you couldn't write it, except everyone is writing it' script was being penned.

The 21-year-old would finally get his goal against the Tynecastle side and condemn Hearts to another defeat as they sit stranded at the bottom of the Ladbrokes Premiership.

Shaw was infamously denied a goal in an Edinburgh derby back in 2017. Excellent movement and a clipped effort hit the bar and bounced over the line at the Gorgie Road end only for the linesman not to award the goal.

Shaw made his debut against Hearts on Wednesday for Ross County. Picture: SNS

On Wednesday, he replaced Billy Mckay with just over 15 minutes remaining, but a dream debut didn't materialise with barely a sniff at goal.

However, after 12 frustrating months at Easter Road, Shaw is just looking forward to getting game time after describing Wednesday as a "whirlwind".

“Ross County came up," he said on Thursday when meeting the press. "I spoke to the managers, the chairman here and everything seemed good.

“They wanted me and told me how I would fit in. So I thought it was something I couldn’t turn down. I’m looking forward to it.

“It has been a frustrating 11 or 12 months for me at Hibs. I haven’t started a game since February. I was biding my time but when the opportunity came up to come here and play football, make a fresh start, I was going to grasp it with both hands."

There were plenty of Hibs fans wishing Shaw well on his move. This was an academy graduate who hit 12 goals in 65 appearances, 21 of which were starts.

One of Europe's best

In addition, there was mention of the club's CEO Leeann Dempster's comments in February 2019 following a good spell for the striker.

She said. "Absolutely one of the best young players, certainly for his age group, in Europe. We are excited about having him at the club."

They arrived two days after the player's last start for the club, and have been brought up by Hibs supporters and fans of other clubs over the last 12 months.

“When I saw it I was shocked, to say the least," Shaw said about the comments. "It’s one of those things, she believed it at that moment in time.

“I was playing regularly, scoring goals and she made the comment. It didn’t faze me. It was something my mates picked up on more. I just tried to get my head down and work hard.

“But obviously that pressure does build up. People from the outside look in and think ‘he’s not doing it, he’s not getting the game time, what’s going on?’

“Neil Lennon had the confidence in me to throw me into big games. I felt I repaid him in a lot of them.

“Then Heckingbottom came in and he had his own ideas, his own way of playing. I was in and out, in and out, coming off the bench here and there.

He added: “There was an opportunity for me to go on loan in August but for some reason it just didn’t happen.

“Heckingbottom wanted to keep me in and around the team. He said he wanted to use me. But the lack of game time was frustrating. I’m glad this opportunity has come up."