Ryan Porteous speaks on Shaun Maloney arrival and Hibs changing style

Ryan Porteous hailed the arrival of Shaun Maloney after the centre-back put in a man-of-the-match performance in Hibs’ 1-0 victory over Aberdeen on Wednesday night.

Ryan Porteous: Man of the match with a goal and a clean sheet

The 22-year-old rose highest in the 64th minute to bullet home a header from a Martin Boyle corner and helped the side keep a clean sheet – their second in as many league games – and climb to fifth in the Scottish Premiership table.

Although new manager Maloney had limited time with the squad before the midweek fixture, Porteous was effusive in his praise for the new man’s approach to the game.

"It was a different way of playing, with the gaffer trying to implement a different kind of style. Although he's only been in for a couple of days I thought we did well,” Porteous said afterwards.

"I thought we controlled it, dominated the ball. It was probably just about being a bit braver and trying to break Aberdeen down rather than keeping the ball.

"It was good, I enjoyed it, and I'm delighted to get a goal."

While there were some errors throughout the team as the Easter Road side adapts to Maloney’s tactics, Porteous believes he is benefiting on a personal level.

"There are lots of different ways to win a football match and the manager has brought in a new style. I enjoyed playing it, it can really highlight the strengths of my game both in and out of possession and I'm looking forward to the future,” he told HibsTV.

"It's all about concentrating for 90 minutes. You can score a goal but if you switch off a couple of times, Aberdeen have good players in forward areas and they could have hurt us.

"We're delighted to get back-to-back clean sheets in the league. It's something we want more of as defenders - I don't think we've had enough of them this season.

"The boys are relieved to have bounced back quickly [from Sunday's Premier Sports Cup final]. With the new manager coming in there's a lift for players who haven't been playing that much and the mood goes up because boys want to impress.

"We're a positive bunch in there, we're a good team, and we just want to move forward and climb the table again."