Martin Boyle doesn't miss Hibs 'crunching tackles' as winger glad to leave Scottish football 'abuse' behind

Martin Boyle insists he's enjoying the change of pace in Saudi Arabia - saying he doesn't miss the "abuse" he got from fans while at Hibs.

The Australia winger swapped the SPFL for Al-Faisaly in January and already has two goals to his name for his new team.

His wife Rachel and daughter Amelia remain in Edinburgh with Rachel starring for Hibs women.

And while Boyle confesses it's difficult being so far away from his family, he doesn't miss the physicality of the Scottish game - or the vocal nature of opposition fans.

He said on the Football Australia podcast : "I don’t miss all the crunching tackles I got every Saturday playing for Hibs, and the abuse from fans. It’s a bit more timid in Saudi Arabia.

"I’ve been on the end of a few challenges but I think they just play on here.

"I’m not complaining though, I’m one of those players who just gets on with it.

"It’s a competitive league in Scotland and there are a lot of big guys running around so I don’t miss that side of it.”

Boyle also revealed that regular pep talks from his infant daughter keep him going - even if her expectations are sometimes unreasonable.

He went on: "My daughter tells me every week how many goals she wants Daddy to score. Sometimes she’ll say ‘five’, which is unachievable, sometimes it’ll be one or two.

"It’s nice – if I don’t score as many as she asks me to score she calls me rubbish, so I get a laugh out of it but it motivates me to do well too.

"She couldn’t get to a lot of the games during Covid-19 but she loves coming onto the pitch.

"She keeps asking when she can come and watch Daddy play which is a little bit upsetting at the moment but I’m sure in the near future she can come out here and see everything and come to one of the games.