Hibs No. 1 eager for reunion with '£30 million' Rangers idol who recommended SPFL move

The Hibs goalie in training today. | SNS Group

From finding his voice as a 14-year-old bawling at grown men, to sharing training-ground chats with “idol” Jack Butland, new Hibs keeper Josef Bursik isn’t short of material to keep conversation flowing. And he’ll be hoping to exchange tales of recovery and redemption with the Rangers No. 1 when they next touch base.

Butland, publicly valued at £30 million by Ibrox boss Philippe Clement just this week, was Stoke’s starting goalie when Bursik – who grew up worshipping his personal footballing hero – joined the Premier League side as a youngster in 2017. Looking to prove himself after an injury-plagued spell in Belgium, Bursik is still being inspired by a keeper whose career was resurrected by his move to the Scottish Premiership last summer.

The former England Under-21 star said: "Going to Stoke, my idol at the time was Jack Butland. In the space of a few weeks I was then training with him every day.

"That was crazy. And I learned so much from him. To be fair, I dropped him a message before I came here. We're always in brief contact. He was down my way when he was at Palace, that's my local team.

WATCH THE LATEST FITBAW TALK HERE

"I spoke to him, and he sang a lot of praise about the league. He had a great season last season which saw him getting shouts of being in and around the England squad.

"Fair play to him. He's done really well and had a few tough years. I get along really well with him and learned a lot from him.

"It would be good to see him this season. It would be great to play against him.

"I'm buzzing for him. He went through a hard time, and that's where it's so important to keep playing games. You get that confidence back.

Butland, pictured making a save from Myziane Maolida at Easter Road last season, remains an inspiration to Bursik. | SNS Group

“I'm in a similar situation. The last year and a half I've been unfortunate with injuries and stuff. Things haven't quite worked out.

"So now I'm in a similar place where I'm happy to come somewhere and feel good, confident and look forward to playing. Hopefully we can do some great things this season."

Bursik has settled quickly at Hibs and in Edinburgh, the 24-year-old – vastly experienced for his age – promptly making his presence felt by dint of a vocal style. If he’s not encouraging or cajoling his defenders, something is very wrong.

“I’ve been lucky that from the early stages of my career I’ve been pushed into first team environments,” he said, revealing: “I remember when I was at Wimbledon, I used to get out of school at 14 to go and train with the first team. I always remember one of the lads came up to me and told me he didn't want me to be quiet at all.

“It sinks in how important that kind of thing is. When you’re playing in the bigger stadiums, they can’t hear everything, but I’ve always felt that it helps me keep focussed. A lot of the time some of the lads will probably say that some of the stuff I say is irrelevant and they’ll turn round thinking: ‘What is this guy on about?’  But it keeps me focussed. Any player and defender will tell you how important it is to have a keeper that doesn’t shut up.”

Expanding on his experience as a rangy youngster being thrown into training sessions at AFC Wimbledon, a great grounding for the accelerated learning that would typify his career, Bursik said: “It was great. You mature so quickly - and I’m very grateful for that.

GET THE LATEST HIBS NEWS DIRECTLY TO YOUR EMAIL INBOX DAILY WITH OUR FREE NEWSLETTER SERVICE

“I moved to Stoke when I was 16 and got my first loan when I was 17 in the conference, I think it was the seventh tier. I was a bit reluctant to go out, taking my ego into consideration and thinking I was better than that level.

“But I got pushed out and I was so glad I did that. You learn to smash out as many games as you can, two games a week and you learn how to manage a game, how to talk and how to stay focus. 

"I'm grateful I had those experiences. The goalie coaches I had at Wimbledon, they must have seen a little bit of ability at a young age and thought they could harness that and push me on. It did wonders for me - and I've always had a confident personality. I can go into those environments and impose myself. I've always done that when things have gone well or badly. You always learn from that.

"There were a lot of senior professionals at Stoke - and I thought I was in a better position than them physically. But because of their know-how and the experiences they had, they were always in the right positions to make big saves that I couldn't.

"I saw that first-hand and learned from that so quickly. The pace was higher the higher level you went, and it pushed me on. You have to take it upon yourself to learn as much as you can."