When Rocky Bushiri made his Hibs debut, against Celtic, in January, he didn’t launch into it blind.
As part of the due diligence done before agreeing on a loan switch from Norwich to Leith, he spoke to friends who knew Scottish football and the Glasgow club well, while the likes of Daedric Boyata and Jason Denyer helped him. Sold on the move north, he also made sure he was well aware of the size of the task going into that first game.
"I know from some friends about Celtic, Boyata and Denyer used to play there. They are a big team in Scotland and they have won the league many times.
"Quite exciting. You want to do well against the top teams, everyone is 2000 percent motivated.
"I am sure we will give our best and do our best."
As well as the Belgian connection – he also interrogated former Hibi Stefan Omonga – he tapped into the family connection.
"I spoke with Boyata's father because he is close to my dad and my uncle.
"Of course, it's a really good league especially for a defender. You're in tough conditions and the motivation to have a clean sheet always gets you better.
"In Belgium we want a clean sheet but in the UK it's different, before you start a game it doesn't matter, clean sheet first. That's great.
"They [Boyata and Denair] did well at Celtic. I hope I can help Hibs as much as I can and give my best.
Compared to Vincent Kompany in his early days, 22-year-old Bushiri is still aiming for similar heights.
"I had no fear, you know, at the youth team level I was the captain of most of my teams, and he was my model. When I was playing youth football he compared me to him because of my physicality and stuff and I He also made his debut early.
"It's a great motivation for me, it's not pressure. It's positive, and then, yeah, you see each other when you're with the national team, and that's really cool.
Since his debut for Hibbs against Celtic, he has experienced another three losses, two draws and, finally, two wins in the last two matches. And now he feels ready for another shot at the league leaders.
"The last Celtic game was my first professional game for 10 months, so I'm clearly in a better position now.
“Things are going well and we have got two wins in a row. I feel more positive.
“Every training session I try to do better, I try to do better in every game. You can't go from 0 to 100 straight away, it's all about progress for me after my injuries and not game time. ,
And he has praised manager Sean Maloney for his role in its development.
“He has been great. I have been in a few clubs in my youth career and he is also one of the best as a human being. He wants me to do better.
"He's very into the details and these little details make a difference. He's on me in training and will make sure that one of his assistants will work with me on what he thinks. It's been really positive so far."