The advice Hibs' Josh Doig has been given for Verona move

There wasn’t much of a crossover but in the short time between Aiden McGeady’s arrival at Hibs and Josh Doig’s departure for Italy, but the Irishman was able to impart some advice that he hopes will help the young Scot make the most of his fresh challenge.

ALCANTARILHA, PORTUGAL - JUNE 30: Josh Doig (L) & Jake Doyle-Hayes during a pre-season Hibernian training session at the Amendoeira Golf Resort, on June 30, 2022, in Alcantarilha, Portugal. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)

More than a decade ago, the 36-year-old winger made the bold decision to swap life at Celtic for a slice of the unknown in Russia

Signing a contract with Spartak Moscow, he spent four years there before returning to the UK, and says the experience was a valuable one.

"I spoke to him a couple of times and one of my mates who I was at Spartak with, an Italian boy, he's the B team coach at Hellas Verona, who Josh has signed for. He said he'll enjoy it; the lifestyle.

“It was just smalltalk really, because he had it in his mind that he wanted to do it anyway and seemed quite intent and headstrong on moving and embracing it.”

The left-back is one of a number of youngsters swapping the Scottish game for a taste of something different and McGeady sees that as a vote of confidence for the talent coming through here. It also bodes well for those involved as he feels every one will be enriched by the experience.

"It definitely developed my game and I had to grow up quickly. I'd just turned 24 but I was considered a veteran of the Celtic team at that point.

“I’d been in the first-team for six years, but I was still very much living at home, doing my own thing, seeing all my mates, so I had to grow up and it was good. I learned a different lifestyle, language, got to know new people and different ways of thinking, the way the Eastern Europeans and Russians think, which is alternative to the way the west think.

“It was great, I really enjoyed it. There were parts of it I didn't like but there were parts that were really good.”

From travel times for training and games, to the language, there were challenges but he says the same will be the case for any of the young Scots heading overseas. But that shouldn’t hold them back.

“Just to enjoy it and be open-minded. I don't think you can go abroad thinking, ‘this is so different from Scotland’ or ‘I miss my mum’s cooking or going for fish n chips’. I think you have got to embrace the culture and embrace the different lifestyle and the changes in terms of the football being played.

“Everything from your diet, to the way you train abroad is different so it is just a case of embracing it and almost becoming a local.

“Josh has gone to Verona so he has to almost become Italian and take on board the things that they do well out there and try to implement that into his lifestyle.”

And, for those using it as a stepping stone for a big move south, McGeady and, more recently, Aaron Hickey show that it is easier to gain credibility by adding a foreign stint to the CV.

“It's a compliment to the Scottish game that players are being plucked from this league to go to Serie A.”