Loan stint at Gala Fairydean Rovers helped me man up on pitch, says Hibs striker Jamie Gullan

The 21-year-old was loaned out to the Galashiels side in 2017 to give him more match experience and he believes that stint in the Borders has stood him in good stead as he pushes for a place in Hibs’ starting line-up.

Gullan, later loaned out to Queen’s Park and Raith Rovers, said: “There wasn’t a lot of pampering at that level. It was more about me trying to learn the game and learn different ways of playing.

“There’s a lot of different teams and players in that league.

“It was a good learning curve but obviously very different to being about the Hibs training centre. To be honest, I didn’t mind it at all. It’s football. Training is training. It’s to get you ready for a game on the Saturday.

“At the lower levels, you only train two days a week and a lot of it is about how you carry yourself off the pitch and how you get ready for games. I enjoyed it. It was a really good first taste of men’s football and I improved for it.

“I had a pair of pink boots and I remember I was getting it tight from a few fans, but I enjoyed it.”

Gullan has made 13 appearances in all competitions for the Edinburgh side so far this season, mostly off the bench, and has scored twice in Betfred Cup wins against Cove Rangers and Dundee.

He and his team-mates are supporting Save the Children’s Christmas jumper day, taking place this year on Friday, December 11. You can join them by donating £2 and sporting festive knitwear. Go to christmasjumperday.org for details.