matej set to make his mark

Slovenian desperate to make a mark at the highest level of his career so far

Livingston striker Matej Poplatnik has described his move to Scotland as the‘biggest moment’ of his career.

The 28-year-old Slovenian was prolific in front of goal for many years in his home country before spells in the Indian Super League and Hungary — but says playing for the Lions will be the toughest challenge he’s faced.

Speaking to the Courier, the former Kerala Blasters attacker said: “I’m excited. It’s the biggest moment of my career and I can say this is the biggest league that I will have played in, so I’m happy and proud to be a Livingston player.

“I grabbed it when the coach offered me the chance to sign and I will do my best for the team.”

He added: “There were some options but Livingston was clearly the best. The

Scottish league and the clubs in this country are a very high level.

“The football here is very good and I spoke with the coach and felt that he trusts me, so that was very important in me making the decision.”

Poplatnik netted over 100 goals between spells at Zarica Kranj and Triglav Kranj in his homeland before earning a move to India and hopes to be prolific in front of goal for the Lions.

He commented: “Scoring goals is my job and I’m happy because I’ve been brought here by a coach who thinks I can do it in this league. Hopefully that’s what happens and I can score a lot of goals and help the team win matches.

“Training is very different but I really like it. I think it’s good for me but I might need a little bit more time to get used to things because I’m new.” Livi boss Gary Holt insisted his new attacker can thrive in

West

Lothian, but warned he may also need some time to adjust to Scotland — both on and off the park.

He said: “Matej was a guy who has been on the radar for a while and before lockdown we’d had chats and seen some of his games.

“We spoke to people in Slovenia and he’s highly recommended. We like the look of him but he’ll take time to adapt.

“It ’ s a new surface, new surroundings, new environment and especially with how we play, there’s no quarter asked or given.

“Plenty of Scottish players struggle to adapt first and foremost with how we train and how we do things but he’s settled in well.

“He’ll get the time to adapt and learn. He’s got to find somewhere to live and his partner is still in Slovenia, so there’s off -the-field stuff like that which can have a knock-on effect but he’s got a lot of good qualities that he can add to the group and we like what he can bring to the squad.”

Excited Matej Poplatnik can’t wait to get started at Livingston