New St Johnstone defender, Bozo Mikulic, wants to lead by example, not by words.
The Croatian is wary of talking up the qualities he expects to bring to the Perth squad now that he has secured his work permit and is available for selection.
It will be performances that earn the respect of his fellow players and Saints supporters, Mikulic believes.
“For me, it’s natural to expect that I need to talk and be vocal,” said the 27-year-old. “But I want to show something on the pitch.
“And only then my team-mates will trust me and know: ‘This guy can help us’.
“If I am just vocal and ‘blah, blah, blah’ but not doing the right things then there is no point. You are just fake confident.
“Once I show something, then it’s: ‘OK, this guy is good, he’s a good person and he can help us’.
“It’s the same with fans.
“It’s stupid for me now to say: ‘I am here, I am a leader’. Do something good that everyone can recognise.”
Familiar face
Simo Valakari got the best of Mikulic when the two men worked together in Latvia and it has been a case of picking up where they left off a couple of seasons ago.
“The manager knows what he wants and what he expects,” he said. “He explains to players exactly what he wants on the pitch.
“He is an open person. All the time, you can speak with him. He is approachable.
“That’s what I remember from Latvia. Not all managers are like that. He is like one of us. That’s important.
“Players want to play for him. He wants winning football, he wants to control the situation in the game with and without the ball.
“And in difficult moments, you need to survive them. He wants to attack, he wants to play for one goal more – that’s him.
“Training with him here, it reminds me what he is like. It’s the same strategy.
“For me, that makes it easier to adapt. We had a good season together. I have seen it work.”
Mikulic added: “Auda was a small club that came up from the second league. The first season was a Croatian coach and we were fifth in the table and won a cup.
“Then Simo came and we got to third. So we got directly into the Conference League and it was the best result ever for that club.
“I played there two years. Simo moved from Auda to Riga and when my contract finished, I went to Albania.
“I left Albania and during the summer, some clubs I wasn’t good enough for. And, for me, some options weren’t good enough.
“So I waited and I’m so happy that the situation at St Johnstone was open for me.”
Big names in Italy
Mikulic has amassed a lot of experience on his travels over the last few years – and played alongside some top professionals.
“When I was 19, I played in the Croatian league,” he recalled. “It’s a really good standard.
“For a young defender, I was interesting many clubs. But Sampdoria made the best offer and I moved there.
“It wasn’t easy in a new language, new culture for a young player in Italy to play there.
“At Sampdoria I trained with the first team. Joachim Andersen was there. I couldn’t tell at the time that he would be the best defender.
“(Matias) Silvestre, I think, was the best player. He played for Inter. He was already about 35 when I went there. Such a strong guy.
“Croatian guy (Ivan) Strinic, (Fabio) Quagliarella up front. This Sampdoria team was sixth or seventh, fighting for Europe. Now they are in Serie B.
“I moved to Hajduk Split, a massive club in Croatia but still you are young and that club expects every game you must win.
“I then moved to Slaven Belupo and there I played the best football of my career.
“Unfortunately, at the end of the season it was Covid times and I broke my ACL.
“I was waiting for a transfer to a good club in Poland.
“But now I am here and I am very happy. This is the most competitive league I will have played in for sure.”
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