The Bozo Mikulic who St Johnstone boss Simo Valakari last coached was one of the top defenders in Latvia.
And the McDiarmid Park manager believes Scottish football will be the perfect place for the Croatian centre-back to propel his career forward again.
Mikulic was picked up as a free agent last month and will be in the Saints squad for Saturday’s Premiership clash with Motherwell now that his work permit has been secured.
The 27-year-old was a leader under Valakari at Auda and the “Balkan fire” still burns brightly, according to the Finn.
“I worked with Bozo for a full season in Latvia,” he said.
“He was already there when I arrived.
“He became a leader of my team.
“He started being even more professional. He was always a big man, obviously, but now he’s rock solid with no body fat.
“He comes from Croatia and we all know that they are fighters on the pitch. He has that Balkan fire inside him.
“Sometimes I’m telling him to be more vocal on the field but when he talks, he says the right things.
“He has been at a few clubs and sometimes you need to find that right environment – coaches and team-mates – which helps bring out your strengths.
“Bozo played this very good season with Auda – in Latvia and in Europe.
“He was one of the best defenders of the year.
“He wanted to go again – bigger and bigger – but couldn’t find the right next step.
“Now I hope he can settle down here and I believe this club and this league will be that right step to progress his career.”
Mikulic debut a matter of timing for Saints boss
The Motherwell game is Saints’ last before an international break, which might tempt Valakari into postponing Mikulic’s debut until later in the month.
“It’s a leap of faith when to put a player in,” he said.
“We hadn’t planned to put Barry (Douglas) in this soon but, with what happened to Andre (Raymond), we were missing a left-back so we needed him.
“After around 60 minutes (against Hearts) he said: ‘Gaffer, I’ve got 10 minutes left in me’.
“I was like: ‘I didn’t hear!’
“Of course, we didn’t want to give him the full game. We have managed his training this week after it.
“With Bozo, he will be available but, with Lewis (Neilson) coming back, we’re OK for centre-backs.
“I’ve not decided yet.
“We’ve got a closed-doors game next week, where he will play as close to 90 minutes as possible and then he would be even more ready.”
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