Ivan Sproule lifted by return of 'big Gaz'

IT WAS as if they had never been away as Ivan Sproule and Garry O'Connor bumped into each other when they arrived for the first day of pre-season training.

The years spent pursuing their careers elsewhere vanished in an instant, each knowing exactly why the other was back at Easter Road, sharing the overwhelming feeling that, at last, they were finally "home".

If Sproule's return after four years with Bristol City was something of a surprise, O'Connor's reappearance following spells with Lokomotiv Moscow and Birmingham City was a shock, probably best measured on the Richter Scale.

But to Northern Ireland winger Sproule the ties that bind were always going to prove too strong to resist when Hibs boss Colin Calderwood came calling. Revealing he'd turned his back on more lucrative offers to remain in England as his contract at Ashton Gate ran down, the 30-year-old said: "I want to enjoy my football again, to have that spring in my step and I knew the only way to do that was to come back here.

"I'd thoroughly enjoyed my time at Bristol City, I have good memories but when I left here there was something missing and I always knew I would love to come back one day although I never knew if it would quite happen.

"There was a change of manager at Bristol early last season when Steve Coppell left and I just didn't seem to feature in the plans. I didn't want to be toing and froing, going here and there on loan and coming back to play bit parts.

"To be honest, there were moves for me to stay in England, there is a lot of money down there as you know but I was keen for that phone call from Hibs to come.

"When it did I came up, spoke to the gaffer and I knew straight away I wanted to come back because he has great ideas for the club. It will be easy for me to step back in because I am a supporter and I want to do well for the club."

And Sproule is convinced the same sentiments lie behind O'Connor's decision to play in green and white again. He said: "As I walked in to the changing room for the start of pre-season training yesterday I bumped into big Gaz.

"It was as if we had never been away. He turned to me and just said 'I've come home'. I'm sure he'll have had offers from England and elsewhere but I think the reason he's come back is simply because he wants to play here.

"Like me he wants to pull on a Hibs shirt again and do well for the club he has supported."While O'Connor has been a lifelong Hibs fan, something which helps explain his return, Sproule arrived in the Capital as a virtual unknown from Irish outfit Institute at the age of 23, but now has an affinity with the club and supporters which, he insists, will never be broken.

He said: "It's been well documented I was an engineer, a guy doing a normal job, when I signed for Hibs. I think the fans took to me because they realised I was a bit like themselves and probably some of the youngsters on the terracing thought I showed it was never too late for them.

"This club has probably given my family everything we have today because I wouldn't have got my move to England had it not been for Hibs. But, and no disrespect to Bristol City, it just feels so different pulling on a Hibs jersey. I still played with the same desire but there was something different. Why? Your answer is as good as mine but you get a feel for a club and Hibs feels like home.

"It hurts me as much as it does the fans when we lose."

There is, of course, a danger when a player - or players in this case - return to a club where they previously enjoyed success, the weight of expectation often proving too great to bear.

Sproule, however, insisted both he and O'Connor can handle the situation saying: "Football is a game of pressure. I know I am not going to be judged on what I did before but on what I do now.

"If I start the season rotten I know the Press and the supporters will come after me, that's the game I am in. But as you get older you learn to deal with it.

"Both Garry and I are a bit longer in the tooth than we were first time around when we had great success as a team but I think Hibs are getting two better players back, that the club will get the best bits of our careers."

Likewise, Sproule cautioned against supporters expecting too much following a season which saw Calderwood's side finish a disappointing tenth in the SPL although, he insisted, exciting times lie ahead.

He said: "I think we should be realistic about the season ahead. We still have a young squad which we should build on while I'm sure there will be one or two more to follow Garry, Sean O'Hanlon and myself. The club has good foundations, a great history and should be better off than we are at this minute playing-wise. But I think they've made a statement of intent. The manager has been bringing in players with experience, guys who have learned their trade and who will have a bigger voice in the changing room.

"Hopefully we will see great competition for places. I know the gaffer wants to keep a tight-knit unit but fighting for your place breeds competition which is what I had first time round."I was never sure if you would play on a Saturday or not because there were so many good players around me. Who is to say that some of the youngsters in the changing room today cannot go on to become the next Scott Brown, Kevin Thomson, Steven Whittaker or Steven Fletcher?

"They've all gone on to make big names for themselves and perhaps the youngsters of today have an even better chance because of the fantastic training facilities the club now has compared to what those lads had,

"Hopefully it is going to be exciting and I, for one, am excited."