Hibs yesterday unveiled summer signing Owain Tudor-Jones ahead of their friendly against Ian Murray’s Dumbarton at the Bet Butler Stadium which is closely followed by a pre-season trip to Portugal where they will play a Gibraltar XI and also Nottingham Forest.
The Easter Road side are still waiting to hear whether they will face League of Ireland side Drogheda United or former European Cup Finalists Malmo in the second qualifying round of this year’s Europa League, and Tudor-Jones hopes to use the experience he gained as a youngster with Bangor to help them progress to the group stages.
He said: “My first European game was a EUFA Cup qualifier with Bangor I made about five appearances in my four years with Bangor, so playing in Europe and having that taste between the ages of 17 and 20 when they happened so it was definitely an eye opener. It doesn’t matter if the opponents are well known or not. It’s a different way of playing the game, certainly different from the Welsh League and I certainly learned a lot from playing against some good players
“The first team we played was in the old Yugoslavia – Sartid Smederevo – and then we faced Gloria 1922 Bistrita from Romania and we also went to Latvia. When you play a team from another country it’s great, something really different to what you are used to.
“We thought that we had done well, but what we didn’t realise is that these teams tend to send out their reserve teams over to Wales so their star players don’t get injured, then their top boys come back for the return game. That was an eye opener for sure and I remember getting bamboozled a couple of times by different players.
“When you look back now you are glad for the experience and hopefully that will help me along the way for the next few weeks.”
The Welsh international is keen to get to know his new team-mates after a brief break which included a trip across the Atlantic.
“It’s been a short summer for myself and even shorter for the boys who were here already. It’s good to get down to business and get to know the lads, as when you sign for a new club it’s just like being a new boy in school for a few days.
“I got married over the summer, so it’s been quite hectic with the stag doo and honeymoon and now all focus gets back to football. We had a week in Los Angeles which was nice but hectic, so perhaps I should have chosen somewhere a bit more relaxing.”
With Rangers playing in the third tier of Scottish football, the Edinburgh derby is seen as the biggest in the country, and with Hearts currently in administration, this year’s fixtures take on an added significance, and once again, Tudor Jones’ experience in Wales should hopefully stand him in good stead.
“I’ve played in a couple of derbies. Last season was obviously the first highland derby in the SPL and Swansea Cardiff as well. They are exciting games to play in, but there’s no point in us beating Hearts three or four times a season but being inconsistent against the other sides.
“There was only one Swansea Cardiff game that I played in which was a 2-2 draw so it wasn’t too bad. This season the derby is the second game so I we don’t have to wait too long and there should be a bit of extra bite in that one.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
