HIBS striker Steve Pinau today revealed how former Rangers star Dado Prso sold him on a move to Scotland.
Pinau was just a kid when the Croatian ace was strutting his stuff for French club Monaco, but it was Prso's love of the Scottish game which left the 20-year-old in no doubt when Hibs boss Mixu Paatelainen came calling.
The youngster arrived in Ed
inburgh just ten days after moving from the south of France to Italian side Genoa, agreeing a year-long loan deal when it became apparent he'd be no more than a bit-part player with the Italian Serie A outfit.
And, he disclosed, it was a pep talk from Prso which persuaded him to make the rapid switch, ending Paatelainen's long pursuit of a player he had hoped to bring to Easter Road on a permanent basis before Genoa stepped in.
He said: "I was only 16 when Dado was with Monaco. He was a fantastic player, unbelievable. He was a big star but a very nice person, he didn't have his head in the clouds, he was very down-to-earth.
"Dado always had time for the young players at the club and, although I never trained with him, he was always there if you needed advice.
"Naturally, as I was a striker myself and Dado was scoring a lot of goals, I would ask him about my positioning, how to take the ball with back to goal and keep it, all sorts of things. If you have someone like him at your club then it only makes sense to ask him, it was never too much trouble for him.
"When he left for Rangers I continued to follow his career in Scotland and it was great to see him do so well here."
Recurring knee injuries forced Prso into a premature retirement but even so he played a pivotal part in Pinau's decision to follow his mentor into the SPL.
He said: "When Dado finished with Rangers he came back to Monaco and talked to the younger players. He told us the game over here was more physical, that teams always want to attack which appealed to me, that the fans were very passionate and that it was a very good championship.
"I remembered all the good things he had to say about Scotland when I got the opportunity to join Hibs."
Even so, Pinau admitted to some reservations – which have proved to be unfounded – in making the switch. He said: "I arrived at Genoa for pre-season, a big club with a lot of big players.
"I'm young and it was clear the coach didn't want me for this season but I prefer to play. When I came here I thought it would be difficult but that's not been the case, this club is like one big happy family.
"It helps, of course, that there are other French-speaking players in the dressing-room like Yves Ma-Kalambay, Steve Thicot, Sol Bamba and Thierry Gatheussi, but the rest of the guys have been great.
"In fact, they've been trying to speak French although, thankfully, most of them play better football than they speak French."
Although he came to Hibs in search of regular first-team football, Pinau has found himself behind Steven Fletcher, Colin Nish and, now, Derek Riordan in the pecking order, but he has no complaints.
He said: "Fletch is a Scottish international player and he has formed a very good partnership with Colin up front while I understand why the fans and everyone at the club is so excited at Deek coming back.
"The other players told me all about him so I typed his name into the computer to find out more and I couldn't believe the number of goals he'd scored for Hibs before he went to Celtic."
And having trained with Riordan, Pinau revealed he knew exactly what his team-mate was going to do as he claimed his first goal since his return to Easter Road, the strike which sealed victory over Hamilton Accies last weekend.
He said: "It's no wonder Deek scores so many goals, he shoots all the time in training. He scores goals like the one against Hamilton all the time so when I was sitting watching from the bench I knew he'd score the second he got the ball.
"We have a lot of very good strikers at the club and it's good for me that I can train and play with them and progress myself. The fact we go forward so much means the strikers will get a lot of opportunities to score so hopefully I'll get my share."
To date, Pinau has scored just once, netting in what ultimately proved to be a bitterly disappointing night as First Division Morton sent Hibs crashing out of the Co-operative Insurance Cup, but he's convinced there will be plenty more moments of glory which he can properly enjoy.
He said: "It was a great feeling to score my first goal but not so good to lose the game. Scoring and winning is always such a better feeling. But I've enjoyed my football so far, I've done a bit of travelling – up and down to Inverness twice already for instance – but it's good to go different places and play different teams."
Although he's likely to start Sunday's match on the bench once again, Pinau has his fingers crossed he'll get involved in the action at some stage.
He said: "It's a big game, on television, these are the sort of matches I came here to be involved in. We've won our last two games and it is important to keep winning.
"It promises to be a great game, Rangers are top of the table but in football everything is possible. We have trained hard all week and if we are disciplined and keep our concentration then, with the strikers we have, I am sure we'll have opportunities to score.
"I'm excited rather than afraid, I like the pressure of these big games. I'm really looking forward to playing at a packed Easter Road. I played for Monaco against Marseille at home and then St Etienne away towards the end of last season and really enjoyed the experience.
"Sunday will be a terrific game, one we are all looking forward to and we all believe we can keep the good results coming."
• SUNDAY'S match will be handled by referee Calum Murray.
The full article contains 1088 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
