De Graaf: I can still be Ed boy for Hibs

Unveiled as the Easter Road club's "marquee" signing of the summer, De Graaf, a former B cap for Holland who had been captain of NAC Breda the previous season, certainly appeared to have all the credentials to be a success in Scotland. Two goals in his first match at his new home - the second leg of the 6-2 aggregate loss to NK Maribor in the Europa League - appeared to confirm manager John Hughes' assertion that he had captured a box-to-box, goal-scoring ace.

Sadly De Graaf's season, as well as that of his new club, spiralled downwards, the 31-year-old left wondering "what if?" as Madjid Bougherra's terrific goal-line challenge prevented him opening the scoring against Rangers in a game the Ibrox side went on to win 3-0.

De Graaf claimed he simply didn't see the Algerian defender coming, an explanation he could well have applied to what followed thereafter, glaring misses against Inverness and Kilmarnock following as Hibs took just eight points from 11 matches while also crashing out of the CIS Insurance Cup.

Hughes paid for poor results with his job, his successor Colin Calderwood initially enjoying just as little success as back-to-back wins over Rangers and Motherwell proved to be no more than a false dawn, preceding as they did a run of 12 games without a victory including that ignominious Scottish Cup exit at the hands of Second Division part-timers Ayr United. Hailed as someone who could help Hibs build on the success of the previous season, De Graaf's fall from grace was as rapid as that of the Easter Road club.

As such, few eyebrows were raised when De Graaf returned to his homeland, news that he'd agreed a loan spell with Rotterdam side SC Excelsior interpreted as the end of his time in Scotland. Today, though, De Graaf revealed he fully intends to return to Hibs within the next few weeks, determined to prove his critics wrong by justifying the two-year deal he signed last summer.

And, he disclosed, he's already informed Calderwood of his intentions. Speaking exclusively to the Evening News from his home in Holland, he said: "I've spoken to the gaffer and told him I really want to come back, to fight for my place and show him I am a good player."

De Graaf is the first to admit to being disappointed at his performances in a green and white shirt, but refuses to use the hype which surrounded his arrival in Leith as an excuse - his being the face which fronted much of the pre-season activity.

He said: "It was a big compliment that they did that for me, that they saw me like that. But when you do not play like you expect then maybe the fans are a little bit disappointed. I did not play well, I think I can play much better than I showed. I didn't play to the level I'd been playing in Holland."

De Graaf, of course, wasn't alone in falling below expectations, Hibs sliding from fourth to tenth in what was to be their worst season in almost a decade and, while unable to pinpoint what caused their downfall, he did highlight the loss of 23-goal Anthony Stokes as having a bearing, the Capital side managing a miserly 39 League strikes in 38 games compared to the previous season's 58.

He said: "What happened? If we knew that we wouldn't have played as we did. I think the start wasn't so good, a lot of players did not play like they could. Then we lost Stokes, that took away a lot of goals and that makes a big difference."

As for himself? De Graaf said: "Living in Edinburgh was not a problem, my family and I really like living there. Outside football my personal life was fantastic but I want my football life also to be fantastic.

"Football in Scotland is played a little differently to Holland, you need a striker who can keep the ball for the midfield and that wasn't always the case. But also, I didn't play as well as I can. You lose a bit of confidence but as you want to show something to the fans it becomes harder and harder. You try to work harder but then you make mistakes because you are trying too hard rather than doing what comes naturally."

If a return to Holland appeared to signal De Graaf's exit, the midfielder revealed it was a decision taken after seeing Calderwood take advantage of the January transfer window to bring in fresh blood.

He said: "Three of the new players coming in were midfielders and everyone knows when the manager brings in new people they will get the chance to show something, perhaps six games.

"I didn't want to wait for that, the gaffer got some new players and he wanted to see them play while he knew how I played. Excelsior phoned to ask if I wanted to play for six months and it was felt it would be good to go back to Holland and get a good feeling about playing."

De Graaf appeared to be doing that, playing regularly and scoring against PSV Eindhoven, only to be struck down by a groin injury. As such he was a mere bystander as Excelsior battled against relegation, going into their final game of the season needing a clear four-goal win over Vitesse Arnhem only to win 4-1 after scoring three times in the last 13 minutes of the match.

It resulted in Alex Pastoor's side facing a play-off to retain their place in the Eredivisie, Holland's top flight, De Graaf returning as a substitute for the second round of matches in which they defeated Helmond Sports 9-3 on aggregate.

Now with that mission accomplished, De Graaf has sights only on next season - in Edinburgh. He said: "I'll be having a short holiday and I'll be back in Scotland a few days before we start pre-season training. Obviously there are the new faces who arrived in January and I'd imagine there will be some more and we will all be looking to have a really good season, to be honest it can't be any worse than last season.

"I still believe in myself and in Hibs. I'm coming back and I am really looking forward to it. The one thing I don't want is Hibs fans to be asking in a few years' time 'who was that Dutch guy we had playing for us?' I am determined to come back, have a fresh start and show I am the player I know I am."