Middlesbrough's Nathan Wood has seemingly hit back at manager Neil Warnock over comments made about his loan move to Hibernian.

Wood joined Hibs on loan back in the summer transfer window, but has so far made just one first-team appearance for the Scottish Premiership side.

That had led to Warnock criticising the defender's agent for pushing for the move, when it has yet to bring Wood much of an increase in game time.

But despite that, it seems Wood himself is still happy to have secured his move to Hibernian, regardless of what Warnock has said on the matter.

Responding to those claims by Warnock, the 19-year-old was quoted by the Daily Record as saying: “Everyone has their opinions on him, but he’s fine with me.

“I just needed to get out of Middlesbrough to be honest as I didn’t really feel part of that squad or playing enough games at my age.

“That’s why I took it on myself to push for a loan. It was my decision. I could have gone to League One or stayed at Boro, but I didn’t want to just be comfortable.

“I wanted to push to play games in an environment like this where it’s hard to get into the team and you need to work hard to stay there.

“I’ve had to wait to get into the team, but I didn’t come here thinking it was going to be a breeze because this is a good team that has been winning games.

“When it comes to the things he said about whether this loan is right for me, it is up to me to make it a good loan. But I can only do that by training well and playing well.”

As things stand, Hibernian are currently fifth in the Scottish Premiership, five points behind league leaders Rangers.

Prior to his move to Easter Road, Wood had made 13 senior appearances in all competitions for 'Boro, since graduating from the clubs academy in 2018, also spending part of last season on loan in League One with Crewe.

The Verdict

These are some interesting comments from Wood on Warnock, and his loan move.

It seems that the defender was keen to push himself with this spell at Easter Road, and it certainly seems he is having to do that to earn his place in the side.

As a result, the experience of that challenge could serve Wood well further down the line in his career, meaning this could yet turn out to be a profitable move for the teenager.

With that in mind, it will be interesting to see just what Warnock makes of this response to his comments from the young defender.