VERONA ADVENTURE HAS DOIG FEELING RIGHT AT HOME IN ITALY
JOSH DOIG admits he’s settled in so well to the Italian lifestyle he can see himself playing in Serie A for the rest of his career.
The former Hibs star joined Verona in a £3million move last summer and has enjoyed an excellent debut season in Italy.
Doig captained Scotland Under-21s in their midweek defeat to Sweden in Spain and they face Wales today in another friendly in San Pedro del Pinatar.
His form has already led to him being part of the Scotland squad for the win against Ireland last September and Doig, 20, feels he’s improving rapidly — even though Verona are embroiled in a relegation dogfight.
He said: ‘It’s so different culture-wise, everything, the people, but I have loved it and embraced it so much. I really feel like it is home now.
‘It’s been my first time moving out of my house and I’ve not got my mum to do my washing!
‘Moving out of Edinburgh would have been hard enough, but moving out of the country and living yourself at first was a huge shock to the system.
‘It certainly makes you mature. I think I am a better person for it.
‘It’s been quite difficult, football-wise, and you can see where we are in the league.
‘We just lost a big game to Sampdoria, so that was a big blow for us.
‘But we are not out of the race yet and there are still ten games to go.
‘It’s difficult because it’s new for me. I have never been in that position before. It really motivates me.
‘At Hibs, we were usually in third or fourth place. It’s different fighting for your lives.
‘You don’t want to have a relegation on your CV.
‘And I don’t want that for the club because they have been so good for me.’
Doig believes the Italian game has helped him because he’s had to grow up on the pitch quickly.
And his performances even led to praise from an unusual source.
He said: ‘Jose Mourinho just said to me good luck for the season after we played Roma. It was a surreal moment.
‘Things like that are what it’s all about. I am so lucky to be doing it. It was a cool thing to happen.’