Hibs: Divis ready to take it ice and easy after debut

JAKUB DIVIS has thrown himself into life in Edinburgh but the Czech goalkeeper admitted he'll be hankering for home tonight as he watches his country begin their assault on the World Ice Hockey Championships.

The 24-year-old will make the dash from Easter Road following his SPL debut against St Johnstone to his Morningside apartment hoping to catch the Czech Republic's opening game against Latvia on television.

For while football dominates the Scottish sporting scene, it very much splits the affections of the Czechs, hence Divis' determination to sift through the channels on offer in hope of finding one screening the second big match of his day. The 6ft 5in stopper, himself the son of a former ice hockey player, said: "Here football is everyone's lifestyle, everyone has their team and inside the stadiums the fans are great.

"It's football, football, football and maybe rugby in Scotland but in the Czech Republic it's 50/50 between football and ice hockey.

"It's my country, it's the world championships, so hopefully it will be shown somewhere on television in Scotland so I can be a supporter."

Up until this evening's face-off in Bratislava, though, Divis' full attention will be focused on the visit of the Saints, the first of an intended run of games for the goalkeeper who is nearing the midway point of his year-long loan from Slovakian side Tatran Presov.

And, he admitted, he's hoping Saints will provide him with more to do than Irish side Bohemians during last month's friendly in the Capital as he seeks to convince Hibs boss Colin Calderwood to make his move permanent.

Although Dublin-based Bohemians did claim a goal via the penalty spot in a 2-1 win for Hibs, Divis recalled: "I didn't have any work to do, only dealing with passbacks with my feet. Of course I need to show the manager a little bit so I hope I play well and have some saves to make, but if we win and I don't have any work to do then I will be happy."

While he has been forced to be patient following his January transfer window arrival, Calderwood having cast his eye over gloves rivals Mark Brown, Graham Stack and the now departed Graeme Smith in the intervening period, Divis believes he is now ready to be put under the microscope. He said: "I don't think it has been a long wait, I think I needed the time to change my lifestyle. I've had to learn the language, the special football language, but now I think I am ready.

"I'm really enjoying being at Hibs. Everything and everyone at the club is very professional, the training centre is absolutely wonderful. One problem was that in the changing room everyone talks so fast and with a different accent I sometimes couldn't understand what was being said.

"Ricardo Vaz Te has been helping me. He remembers how it was for him when he went from Portugal to play in England, it was the same situation. So he'll tell me 'that's not correct, say so and so', and he also explains to me slowly what has been said by the boys."

Communication, however, won't be a problem in the heat of action, Divis insisted. He said: "We train on the pitch every day, we communicate so it will be okay."

Divis did, though, admit he'll probably suffer from a bout of pre-match nerves but, again, was adamant that won't prove to be a problem. He said: "I'll be excited of course and perhaps a little bit nervous beforehand.

"The first match is important for everyone, it was the same for me at Slavia Prague and Tatran Presov but once you go on the pitch and do your warm-up the nerves disappear so I am sure I will be absolutely okay.

"Every goalkeeper wants to play every game and my ambition is the same. Once the season is over and we have the summer break I will speak to the manager and see where we are."