On-loan Hibernian forward Marc McNulty wants his future sorted soon

Marc McNulty admits he is as desperate as the Hibernian fans to know what his future holds beyond the summer.

The on-loan Reading striker has scored seven goals in 13 appearances after returning to his native Edinburgh in January.

McNulty was told by new Reading boss Jose Gomes that he was surplus to requirements at the Sky Bet Championship strugglers just months into a four-year deal following his move from Coventry for a seven-figure fee.

The 26-year-old’s future remains up in the air although he hopes it becomes clearer after this weekend with Reading needing only a point from their final two games to beat the drop.

When told Hibs fans were desperate to hear about his future, McNulty said: “I’m desperate as well. I’m laughing now but I probably know as much as you at the minute.

“I still have three years left at Reading so I need to have a conversation with the manager and board down there and see where we’re at. Until we have that conversation, that’s all I know.

“They are nearly safe, so once they are mathematically safe then we can probably have those conversations.

“I just want to play football. I don’t have a preference. If it’s Scotland, England or Japan it doesn’t make a difference to me.

“As long as I feel that the manager trusts me, that I will get a good run in the team, then that’s where I want to play.

“I wish I knew where I was going to be because you don’t know if it’s going to be Hibs, we could possibly be in Europe, we could be in earlier, it could be Reading or somewhere else.

“It’s up in the air but it’s part and parcel of football and it’s a bit exciting at the same time.”

McNulty was training with the youth team after Gomes replaced the sacked Paul Clement but he views the setback as a blessing in disguise after forcing his way into the Scotland set-up following his return north.

The former Livingston and Sheffield United player made his international debut as a late substitute in the 3-0 defeat by Kazakhstan before playing in the victory over San Marino.

Now he hopes to retain his place for next month’s Euro 2020 qualifiers against Cyprus and Belgium.

“It’s fairytale stuff,” he said ahead of Sunday’s Edinburgh derby against Hearts at Easter Road.

“It’s the stuff you dream of as a kid. For it to come after being told I can go and training with the youth team, then I would never have guessed in two months time I would be in the Scotland squad getting my first cap.

“There’s massive games coming up and it’s just a case of playing well and hopefully the new manager likes the way I play.

“I got a little feel for the Scotland stuff, it was brilliant. The result never went to plan but for me personally it was great to be in amongst it and I would love to be involved in the next games.

“You put summer on hold until you find out if you are in the squad. The missus and the family aren’t too happy about it but they know that comes first.”

FourFourTwo Staff

FourFourTwo was launched in 1994 on the back of a World Cup that England hadn’t even qualified for. It was an act of madness… but it somehow worked out. Our mission is to offer our intelligent, international audience access to the game’s biggest names, insightful analysis... and a bit of a giggle. We unashamedly love this game and we hope that our coverage reflects that.