Ryan Porteous irked by former Hibs star and made sure his 'feelings were passed back'

Tam McManus admits he feels sorry for Scotland red card sinner Ryan Porteous - even though the pair will never see eye-to-eye.

Porteous will miss the remainder of Scotland's Euro 2024 group stage campaign after being slapped with a two-game ban in the wake of his reckless sending-off against Germany. The Watford defender gave away a penalty after clattering into Barcelona superstar Ilkay Gundogan as Steve Clarke's side crashed to the tournament's heaviest-ever opening-day defeat.

It was a devastating moment for the 25-year-old, who fostered a reputation of being overaggressive during his time in Scotland with Hibs. One of his biggest critics was ex-Easter Road striker McManus and word has got back to the pundit that some of his comments have irked Porteous down the years.

McManus, though, makes no apologies for some of his scathing verdicts but confessed he had sympathy for the defender after the biggest moment of his career turned into a nightmare.

He told the Daily Record: "Let's put it this way, I'm not expecting to be top of Ryan Porteous' Christmas card list this winter. Word has got back to me the Scotland stopper hasn't been too happy with some of the things I've written about him down the years. I've been critical of some of the silly scrapes and needless sendings-off he got himself involved in during his time at Hibs.

"It's certainly not personal. My job is to give my opinion on matters at Easter Road as truthfully as I can, not to be a cheerleader for the club. So when I thought he went over the score with a couple of tackles, I said so. From what I gather, Ryan has taken exception to those comments and has made sure his feelings have been passed back to me.

"That's fine. He has the right to think I'm talking nonsense just as I have the right to think it's about time he stopped diving into reckless challenges. We're never going to be best mates and that's just the way it goes when you operate on the side of the business I do now.

"But while Ryan might not believe this, I did actually feel for him last Friday night as he got his marching orders in Munich. I took no joy at all seeing him being sent off against Germany. It was the biggest game of his life, kicking off the Euros against the host nation in front of a sold-out Allianz Arena with millions more watching across the continent.

"He'll have trudged back to the dressing room feeling awful. I know from experience what that's like. OK, I've never reached the heights Ryan has in playing at a major tournament - but I have taken that long, lonely walk down the tunnel feeling like you've let everyone down.

"It's up to Steve Clarke and the rest of the team to get around him and lift his spirits. And again, Ryan might not believe this but nothing would please me more than if the team can bail him out and Ryan gets the chance to redeem himself in the last 16. Hopefully he gets that opportunity to shut up the critics - namely me - for good!"