Will Fish makes Hibs vow as loan defender brushes off Manchester United recall claims

Hibs defender Will Fish is intent on doing everything he can to help the Easter Road side climb the table, after getting another 45 minutes under his belt in Thursday’s friendly victory over Raith Rovers.

The on-loan Manchester United defender started alongside Rocky Bushiri at the heart of defence as Lee Johnson’s side posted a 1-0 win against their cinch Championship opponents courtesy of Josh Campbell’s early strike that deceived visiting goalkeeper Andy McNeil.

Fish made way for club captain Paul Hanlon at the interval as nine changes were made to the team but was pleased to get more action after playing 82 minutes of last month’s 2-0 friendly defeat by Middlesbrough, on this occasion contributing to a clean sheet.

Speaking to HibsTV the English centre-back said: “For me, most importantly it was good to get some gametime. I have not had a great deal over the last few months so it is good to get that sharpness back in the legs. We've been working hard in training, focussing on our high press and winning the ball back quickly - I thought we implemented it quite well and we came in 1-0 up at half-time."

Will Fish is happy to have got more gametime in the friendly matches against Middlesbrough and Raith

Although the 19-year-old didn’t directly address rumours claiming his parent club were ready to summon him back to Manchester, he reiterated his desire to contribute in a Hibs shirt between now and the end of the 2022/23 campaign. Fish has made just two competitive appearances since joining on loan but remains confident of making a significant contribution in green and white between now and the end of May.

"When you have three or four weeks without a game, you can lose your match sharpness so it has been good to get these friendlies in over this period. We have been working hard in training so it is good to put that into practice against a strong opposition.

"My focus for the season is on playing as many games as possible, between now and the end of the season here at Hibs. I want to play those games to the best of my ability to show the gaffer what I can do and to make sure we finish the season as high as we can in the table."