Hibs’ Head Coach Neil Lennon has urged fans to judge new signing Deivydas Matulevicius on his performances and not his Wikipedia page.
The 6ft 3in striker who signed from Belgian side Royal Mouscron became Lennon’s sixth summer signing after Danny Swanson, Simon Murray, Efe Ambrose, Ofir Marciano and Steven Whittaker.
The 28-year-old Lithuanian internationalist, has played 33 times for his country, and was an unused sub against Scotland in the recent World Cup qualifier.
Few had heard of Matulevicius when Hibs announced his arrival and supporters turned to social media to find out more.
His goals per game ratio disappointed a few however Lennon pointed out that he is a targetman who will add value to the team and he also praised his attitude for coming to Easter Road to improve his career rather than chase the money.
Lennon said: “Anyone can go by Wikipedia pages and a lot of fans tend to do that, then make a decision on someone based on that.
“Wikipedia can hide a multitude of sins but I hope people judge him on his all-round game because what we’ve seen, we’ve liked.
“He has come in great condition. He has done some physical work that he sailed through. He has trained with the players and he is hungry.
“Sometimes you find players who don’t come for money, they come for ambition and to improve their career.
“He has played in Romania. He has played in Belgium at quite a high standard. Sometimes we dismiss these leagues because we are in a bubble here in Britain
“We’ve brought a player at his peak who has vast experience of playing around Europe. The Scottish league will not worry him.
“He’s a targetman and he’s mobile. I wouldn’t say he’s prolific but if he was then he certainly wouldn’t be coming to play in Scotland with the attributes that he has.
He has played 30-odd times for his country.
“There’s room for improvement with him and he knows that. I think he’ll add a very good dimension to our attacking play.
“I played with some really good ‘big’ strikers like Heskey, Sutton and Hartson, and they can make the difference at the top end of the pitch at times.
“It’s important in certain games to have a physical presence. Grant Holt did a great job last year with his experience, know-how and physicality. We hope David will add the same sort of qualities”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
