St. Mirren defender Conor McCarthy has revealed that he found neither Odsonne Edouard nor Jermain Defoe to be as hard to defend against as Hibernian’s Marc McNulty, following his initial encounters with the trio.

McNulty is on loan at Hibernian from Reading, having signed for the club for a second time in the January transfer window.  

 



McCarthy played and scored for St Mirren in a 2-2 draw at Hibernian in February, with McNulty coming on off the bench.

He clocked the full 90 minutes at Ibrox in January as Rangers beat St Mirren 1-0, Defoe scoring the crucial goal, while in March he visited Celtic Park, seeing his side thrashed 5-0 by Celtic, with Edouard amongst the goals.
 


McCarthy rates both Defoe and Edouard, dubbing the veteran English striker a "fox in the box", while noting his side dropped deep at Celtic Park and Ibrox.



“I haven't played against Alfredo Morelos, when I played against Rangers it was Jermain Defoe who started”, McCarthy told the Glasgow Times.

“What struck me against him was his movement, he was always on the last shoulder looking for that chance.
 

Error, group does not exist! Check your syntax! (ID: 76)


“That's what he's made a career of, being a fox in the box, so he was a very good player.

"Against the likes of Celtic and Rangers we play quite deep so it denies them a bit of space, so I don't think Odsonne Edouard dropped too deep into midfield to get the ball and they weren't really up against us as centre-backs at Celtic.

“I know, of course, that if it was a more expansive game I'd have an awful lot more problems to deal with."

The St Mirren defender though rates Hibernian hitman McNulty as being harder to handle than both Defoe or Edouard were.

He explained: "But I played against Marc McNulty at Hibs and he had very good movement and awareness.

“Some other strikers are more physical and enjoy that type of battle so, as a defender, I enjoy that side of the game.

“But McNulty did a lot of dropping short to go in behind and I felt that was something I can try and get better at in future.

“He was probably the hardest player to play against.”

McCarthy is still feeling his way into Scottish football, having made the move to St Mirren from Irish outfit Cork City in the January transfer window.