Former Aberdeen Women star Mya Christie says she has embraced life as a professional footballer with Hibernian.
The 19-year-old, who hails from Inverurie, made the switch to Edinburgh this summer after signing a two-year full-time deal with the Hibees.
Christie earned the move to Hibs after an impressive breakthrough season with the Dons, where she made 28 appearances in the SWPL and featured in the Sky Sports Cup and Scottish Cup.
Moving to Hibs saw Christie achieve her ambition of becoming a professional footballer and she feels being full-time has already helped improve her game.
Christie has featured six times for Hibs in the SWPL this season – scoring once – and featured in her new club’s 6-2 win over Aberdeen in the Sky Sports Cup on Sunday.
She said: “I’m really enjoying it. It’s been a big step up, but being in this environment and with the opportunities I’m getting here, it really pushes you on.
“It’s been more intense and more work and you see bigger improvements because you’re playing more often, which has been really good.
“I just want to keep doing well and make sure I’m in the starting XI and hopefully get more opportunities with Scotland. The main thing for me is that I just keep getting better.”
And while she has enjoyed the demands of full-time football, Christie admits she found aspects of the transition difficult at first.
She added: “I found it quite tough to begin with because I was training more and playing 90 minutes, but the club are helping me recover better.”
Hibs and Scotland opportunities
Having predominantly featured as a winger for Aberdeen, Christie has proven her versatility at Hibs by playing as a left wing-back for Grant Scott’s side.
She said: “I like playing anywhere just to help the team, but I have really started to get into full-back now and that’s where Hibs see me playing.
“I’m learning more and more about the game, like keeping the ball better and making runs, and I’m learning from the other players. There are more older players here than there were at Aberdeen, so they really help push you on.”
Christie has had to adapt away from the pitch, too, living away from home in a new city with new people, but that is something which she has also enjoyed.
She said: “There is more to see and more to do in Edinburgh on your days off.
“I knew Eilidh Adams and Rosie Livingstone and we’re good friends, so that has helped, but we’re just one big group and we all have a good bond as a squad.”
Christie’s form at Hibs was rewarded with her first Scotland under-23s call-up last month for a camp in Italy, where she started in a friendly match against Australia.
She said: “I loved every single minute of it. I wasn’t expecting to play and played in a different position (right midfield), but I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.”
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