Rocky Bushiri rolling with the punches as Hibs defender insists, 'I want to be better'

He is speaking after playing in Hibs’ 4-1 victory over Bonnyrigg Rose in the Premier Sports Cup group stages – his third start in as many games since signing a permanent deal following a loan spell in the second half of last season.

"There were talks during the summer and I really wanted to stay,” he explains.

"I felt really good in the team and with the board and like I said, I really wanted to stay and grow here, so I kind of knew I was coming back."

By the time the former Belgium under-21 cap returned to the Capital, there had been a change in manager and the man who gave him a footballing lifeline after several months without regular gametime had been replaced. Bushiri is phlegmatic about the switch.

"I'm not going to spend my whole career with one manager,” he reasons.

"I was really happy Shaun Maloney gave me this opportunity again to be back in the game but it's football. We all know managers come and go, and team-mates come and go."

Having played through the pain barrier at times last season, Bushiri is relieved to be fully fit and wants to make the most of it. With Darren McGregor winding down his career with a combined coaching role, Paul Hanlon currently recovering from an operation, and Paul McGinn departed, centre-halves are in short supply at Easter Road at the moment with Bushiri, Ryan Porteous, and newcomer Kyle McClelland getting gametime in the Premier Sports Cup matches so far.

"I want to be better than last season, I want to be ready every game and not pick up any small injuries,” he states.

"I want to be fully in the rhythm; I want to be able to go the full 90 minutes at the same intensity; keep clean sheets, and help the strikers and players in front of me to be better because of my