Will Fish over Hearts derby stumble as Hibs defender vows to take on Ryan Porteous replacement 'challenge'

Being hooked at half time in the Edinburgh derby last month could have left Will Fish floundering at Hibs.

The Manchester United loanee was thrown in at the deep end for his first start in a 3-0 defeat at the home of their arch rivals and was caught at the opening goal after just eight minutes. Credit to the teenage defender though, there was no drowning in self pity after that rocky 45 minutes against Hearts and he quickly won his place back in Lee Johnson’s side.

Now, after starring in the last three outings which have brought seven points from nine, Fish has proved he is far from out of his depth in the Premiership. The England U19 international has replaced Ryan Porteous and formed a watertight partnership with Paul Hanlon in the centre of defence as Hibs have sailed up the table into fifth position. Fish has turned that turbulent start into a positive by claiming it’s strengthened his character - and insists it’s exactly why he chose the Scottish Premiership over the lower leagues in England to continue his development.

He said: “It was tough at the time and I think we were going through a tough spell as a team but it shows you how quickly football can change. You need to stick with it and there is always another game to put it right.

“Every player, especially at a young age, is going to experience something like that. It can’t be all plain sailing. Not in a good way but I’m glad it happened to me when it did.”

Fish is set to start a fourth successive game against Kilmarnock this afternoon and is being rewarded for his patience after spending the first three months of his loan deal watching from the sidelines. He said: “It was always set in my head to stay until the end of the season because where would I go? League