Josef Bursik admits he’s ready to prove he’s moved on from being the warm-up act for his idol Jack Butland when Hibs arrive at Ibrox.
The Easter Road keeper shared a dressing-room with his Light Blues counterpart during a spell at Stoke City as a starstruck understudy. But as David Gray’s side attempt to build on last week’s win over St Johnstone, Bursik paid a warm tribute to the Rangers No.1. He recalled being given a grand tour of English football’s most iconic stadiums. He said: “I spoke to Jack before I came to Hibs then a couple of times since then.
“We had a good relationship at Stoke. I learnt a lot from him and it will be good to see him again.Jack was a bit of an idol for me growing up so it was cool to train with him every day. I was travelling to all those games and stuff, warming up at all the big stadiums when I was 16 and 17-years-old. That’s invaluable, isn’t it?
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“I was flirting on the edge of going on my first loan when I first joined Stoke. My best experience was going to Stamford Bridge because I’m a Chelsea fan –that was big.
“I’d gone from League Two at AFC Wimbledon straight to a pre-season tour with the first team to Switzerland. It felt like a different life. You find yourself six or seven years down the line playing in stadiums that big. It’s a nice reward for the hard work.”
The 24-year-old former England Under-21 keeper has arrived in Leith on loan from Club Brugge for the season. He’s adamant that first league win over Saints must be a starting point for Hibs as they prepare for game that could provide a statement for how they intend to push on after a slow start.
He said: “As a team you’ve got to try your best not to look at the opposition’s stature. You’ve got to look at them as a team, based on how they’re doing results-wise.
“Otherwise you just get caught up in it. It’s hard against bigger teams but that gives you the best chance of doing well.
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“We will want to win at Ibrox and I think that’s the easiest way to do it – not let the occasion overawe you. It will be a good atmosphere. It will be my first visit to Ibrox and I don’t think many of the new lads have been there either. So I’m looking forward to that
“We’ve been disappointed as a group with some of the results, as you can imagine. We’ve come close, there’s a couple of draws we should have won.
“We’ve had two tough games against Celtic and I think anyone in the league would say that can put you on the back foot a bit. Personally, I feel I’ve done alright but there are things I want to do better.”
Hibs have been guilty of losing a host of avoidable goals in recent weeks, so keeping a clean sheet in their 2-0 home victory over St Johnstone has been like a tonic for Bursik. And he insists that has to be the benchmark if they’re to start climbing the table.
He said: “There’s some level of responsibility as a back three, two centre-backs and goalie, for keeping clean sheets and helping the team win in that way.
“And we haven’t had that since those pre-season games in that little cup run. So it was a bit of a relief to get that clean sheet, get that win and get that feeling back.
“You missed that as a defender so that was nice and a good moment. You play football for little things like that.
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“Hopefully we can build on that, gain a bit more confidence and keep going. The lads are excited about the Rangers game, to be honest – it’s something different if you haven’t played at Ibrox before. I certainly am and I can speak for the lads here as well.
“So we just want to get out there and keep building. Two wins on the bounce then you are unbeaten in three and you push on from there. I’m looking forward to it.”