No one of an Aberdeen or Caley Thistle persuasion will have been surprised Graeme Shinnie has finally made his mark south of the border.
The former Dons and Caley Jags captain endured a difficult start to life with Derby County following the departure of Frank Lampard, the manager who brought the 28-year-old to Pride Park, to Chelsea.
His replacement Phillip Cocu appeared unconvinced by the Aberdonian, who was forced to wait until a match against Luton Town earlier this month to sample his first taste of action in the English Championship.
Shinnie wasn’t going to allow the opportunity to pass him by and produced a man of the match display in the 2-0 victory.
Since then, the Scotland international has maintained his place in the Rams line-up and endeared himself to his new club’s support by scoring a dramatic injury-time winner in County’s 1-0 win against Wigan on Wednesday.
Shinnie admitted he has already felt like he was playing for his Derby future in his first couple of appearances.
With so much at stake in the second tier of English football, players can be quickly dismissed as not good enough as clubs chase the financial jackpot of the English Premier League.
Plenty of Scottish players have made the journey south to the promised land only to return to Scotland a year later having barely registered any meaningful minutes on the pitch.
Shinnie, however, possesses huge levels of determination to succeed as he exhibited when helping Caley Thistle to Scottish Cup glory in 2015.
At Aberdeen, he was pivotal to the way Derek McInnes set up his side as the player tasked with setting the tone by charging down opponents and driving the team forward.
Shinnie possesses the tools and the attitude to thrive in England but, like all players, he requires a manager who believes in him and hopefully Cocu gives him the chance to make that starting slot his own.
Another former Don and Caley Jag, Ryan Christie, has also managed to turn the doubters into believers.
For a long time, it looked like Christie was going to fall short in his ambitions of making the grade at Celtic Park.
But he has been exceptional since his dazzling display against Hearts in a League Cup semi-final at Murrayfield exactly a year ago to this day, coming on at half-time and playing a part in all three goals in a 3-0 win.
Aberdeen manager McInnes is already tipping the 24-year-old to be crowned Scotland’s player of the year and Thursday’s goalscoring contribution in a 2-1 Europea League win against Lazio further enhanced his standing at Celtic Park.
Both players have worked tirelessly to make the most of their talent and provide the perfect inspiration for any young player trying to make their way in the game.
