Swoosh
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http://sport.scotsman.com/football_spl.cfm?id=387992006
Easter Road is my home now, admits Irish rover Sproule
COLLEEN PATERSON
IVAN SPROULE says Hibs fans have made him feel so welcome in the Capital that he doesn't think he'll ever be able to sign for another club!
The midfielder upped sticks almost exactly a year ago to sign for the Easter Road side after clinching a deal from Irish League outfit Institute.
The move meant a huge upheaval for the midfielder, leaving the tiny village of Castlederg in Omagh for the first time in his life and forcing his fiance Janet to give up a steady job to join him in Scotland.
But he's loved every minute of it and, just when it seemed life couldn't get any better for him, he penned an extension to his current contract last week, taking him up to 2009.
It is dreamland for Sproule, who up until the age of 24, was still playing in the Irish leagues and praying for a move to the big time. Now he's hoping to repay the Hibs fans and manager Tony Mowbray for the faith they have shown in him.
He said: "I was delighted to have my contract extended last week and I am well settled now in Edinburgh. The club and the fans have been good to me since I got here and it is nice just to repay them and do well for them.
"To be honest, I don't think I could ever move anywhere else.
"If I did move on to another club I don't think I would be as well respected by the fans and by the people around me here.
"I live in Leith so I am really in the heart of it all, right in the middle of the supporters, and even if you nip down to the shop people are always saying hello or passing comment.
"The first thing they want to chat about is the football and that's great, its nice to know that people are looking out for you and asking how you're getting on.
"We've always got people over from Northern Ireland, family and friends, and if we go out for a meal with them, the people even make them feel welcome.
"That's something our visitors always talk about when they are heading back home, you know, the way they have been treated by everyone over here.
"That is something that you have to have, you have to have a good relationship with people outside the club. I really value that.
"I've had bus-loads of my friends and people from my own village, Castlederg, coming over to watch games.
"The house is never empty, it just seems to fill up every weekend. It's always nice to know that people are coming over, someone from home.
"In Castlederg and in the villages round about, the Hibs score is the first one they look for on a Saturday night.
"We've even converted people from Celtic or Rangers and it is good for the club as well that they know people from outside Scotland are taking an interest."
Sproule was plucked from obscurity by Mowbray and Mark Venus in the spring of 2005 and has proved to be a popular signing with Hibs fans - not least for his late hat-trick at Ibrox earlier in the season. And the midfielder, whose brother now plays for Institute believes there are more players just like him crying out for the chance to cross the Irish Sea and into the SPL.
This last year has been full of highlights for the likeable Irishman and he is hoping to round it off by winning a place in the UEFA Cup and getting his hands on the Scottish Cup trophy.
But, no matter what happens, his long-awaited wedding to Janet in June will without doubt top it all. The pair had to postpone the original date for their big day when Sproule agreed his move to Easter Road. But with a full season, and a new contract, under his belt, he is finally looking forward to the biggest match of his career.
He added: "The wedding plans are going very well, we get married on the 16th June and we'll get a wee break then.
"It has been a big year for me and that will be a nice way to cap it all off.
"I had to postpone the wedding when my move to Hibs first came up.
"We had a date set and were getting the house ready but when I moved over here we had to put all the plans to one side.
"We're back on track now though and it will be nice to finally get married.
"There have been a lot of highlights for me this season, but this will definitely top the lot of them.
"Janet moved over here a month after I joined the club and she has been a massive help to me and has made me settle in better.
"All credit has to go to her because she had a steady job and the shoe was put on the other foot, it would have been me giving up my career.
"It must be difficult to live with a player, especially if you are not playing, and she is the one who has to listen to it all."
Credit, says Sproule, must also go to boss Tony Mowbray for the fact that he has broken into the Northern Ireland side in recent months and scored his first goal for his country on his full debut.
The Irishman insists he couldn't have done it without his manager's help but insists there is still more to come from him.
"I'm not ready to settle for what I've done already. There is a lot more I want to push myself on to and achieve, not just for myself but for the fans and the club as well.
"Everything the manager has told me since I arrived at the club, he has stuck to.
"He told me that if I kept on improving and putting in the performances, that he would improve my contract.
"He has done exactly what he said he would and I'm grateful. He has faith in me and to be honest he has made me believe in myself.
"Since I signed I've had three caps for my country and I don't think I would have earned them if it hadn't been for Tony Mowbray and Mark Venus."
:applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:
I love this guy. Hibs Hero :worthy
Easter Road is my home now, admits Irish rover Sproule
COLLEEN PATERSON
IVAN SPROULE says Hibs fans have made him feel so welcome in the Capital that he doesn't think he'll ever be able to sign for another club!
The midfielder upped sticks almost exactly a year ago to sign for the Easter Road side after clinching a deal from Irish League outfit Institute.
The move meant a huge upheaval for the midfielder, leaving the tiny village of Castlederg in Omagh for the first time in his life and forcing his fiance Janet to give up a steady job to join him in Scotland.
But he's loved every minute of it and, just when it seemed life couldn't get any better for him, he penned an extension to his current contract last week, taking him up to 2009.
It is dreamland for Sproule, who up until the age of 24, was still playing in the Irish leagues and praying for a move to the big time. Now he's hoping to repay the Hibs fans and manager Tony Mowbray for the faith they have shown in him.
He said: "I was delighted to have my contract extended last week and I am well settled now in Edinburgh. The club and the fans have been good to me since I got here and it is nice just to repay them and do well for them.
"To be honest, I don't think I could ever move anywhere else.
"If I did move on to another club I don't think I would be as well respected by the fans and by the people around me here.
"I live in Leith so I am really in the heart of it all, right in the middle of the supporters, and even if you nip down to the shop people are always saying hello or passing comment.
"The first thing they want to chat about is the football and that's great, its nice to know that people are looking out for you and asking how you're getting on.
"We've always got people over from Northern Ireland, family and friends, and if we go out for a meal with them, the people even make them feel welcome.
"That's something our visitors always talk about when they are heading back home, you know, the way they have been treated by everyone over here.
"That is something that you have to have, you have to have a good relationship with people outside the club. I really value that.
"I've had bus-loads of my friends and people from my own village, Castlederg, coming over to watch games.
"The house is never empty, it just seems to fill up every weekend. It's always nice to know that people are coming over, someone from home.
"In Castlederg and in the villages round about, the Hibs score is the first one they look for on a Saturday night.
"We've even converted people from Celtic or Rangers and it is good for the club as well that they know people from outside Scotland are taking an interest."
Sproule was plucked from obscurity by Mowbray and Mark Venus in the spring of 2005 and has proved to be a popular signing with Hibs fans - not least for his late hat-trick at Ibrox earlier in the season. And the midfielder, whose brother now plays for Institute believes there are more players just like him crying out for the chance to cross the Irish Sea and into the SPL.
This last year has been full of highlights for the likeable Irishman and he is hoping to round it off by winning a place in the UEFA Cup and getting his hands on the Scottish Cup trophy.
But, no matter what happens, his long-awaited wedding to Janet in June will without doubt top it all. The pair had to postpone the original date for their big day when Sproule agreed his move to Easter Road. But with a full season, and a new contract, under his belt, he is finally looking forward to the biggest match of his career.
He added: "The wedding plans are going very well, we get married on the 16th June and we'll get a wee break then.
"It has been a big year for me and that will be a nice way to cap it all off.
"I had to postpone the wedding when my move to Hibs first came up.
"We had a date set and were getting the house ready but when I moved over here we had to put all the plans to one side.
"We're back on track now though and it will be nice to finally get married.
"There have been a lot of highlights for me this season, but this will definitely top the lot of them.
"Janet moved over here a month after I joined the club and she has been a massive help to me and has made me settle in better.
"All credit has to go to her because she had a steady job and the shoe was put on the other foot, it would have been me giving up my career.
"It must be difficult to live with a player, especially if you are not playing, and she is the one who has to listen to it all."
Credit, says Sproule, must also go to boss Tony Mowbray for the fact that he has broken into the Northern Ireland side in recent months and scored his first goal for his country on his full debut.
The Irishman insists he couldn't have done it without his manager's help but insists there is still more to come from him.
"I'm not ready to settle for what I've done already. There is a lot more I want to push myself on to and achieve, not just for myself but for the fans and the club as well.
"Everything the manager has told me since I arrived at the club, he has stuck to.
"He told me that if I kept on improving and putting in the performances, that he would improve my contract.
"He has done exactly what he said he would and I'm grateful. He has faith in me and to be honest he has made me believe in myself.
"Since I signed I've had three caps for my country and I don't think I would have earned them if it hadn't been for Tony Mowbray and Mark Venus."
:applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:
I love this guy. Hibs Hero :worthy
:rollfloor
