HEARTS midfielder Ian Black admits he is planning to help the supporters forget all about the loss of Bruno Aguiar – but does not want to be compared to the Portuguese playmaker.
The former Inverness player officially put pen to paper on a three-year-deal with the Tynecastle outfit on Monday after initially agreeing a pre-contract in January whilst at the Caledonian stadium.
Black's arrival in Gorgie comes just days after
Aguiar signed for Cypriot side Omonia Nicosia.
Even though both Black and Aguiar have a natural tendency to play the ball along the ground and are off similar height, the 24-year-old insists he is keen to avoid being likened to the departed midfielder.
Black said: "I would never put myself in someone else's shadow, I am my own player. I know we are playing in the same area but I hope the fans don't put me in that same category as Bruno either. We are different styles of players, I know he did great at Hearts and he is a great player but I want to go in and make a name for myself and do the club proud; I don't want to be in anyone else's shadow.
"My aim is to go in and establish myself and get the fans behind me, do what the fans and the manager want me to do."
Black's five-year spell in the Highland's ended in misery as Caley Thistle were condemned to first division football with defeat to Falkirk in the final game of the season. However, Black admits he can't allow himself to dwell on the past as he prepares to begin pre-season training under Csaba Laszlo on 2 July.
He added: "It was disappointing, we believed we were capable of staying up. It was a hard one to take but I have moved on and I am looking to win stuff with Hearts.
"I just can't wait to get started, I am counting down the days until pre-season begins. I was in at Tynecastle on Monday getting everything sorted out. I went in to sign and I asked to have a look around, and I had a right good feeling. It was a proud moment to eventually just sign the contract, it was great and I was always itching to do it. I was always on the phone to my agent asking, when was I to come in?"
Black, whose father – Ian – played for Hearts between 1977 and 1980, is also relishing the prospect of competing in Europe for the first time in his career, with Hearts entering the inaugural Europa League one round prior to the group stages.
The former Tynecastle ballboy added: "It's going to be a great experience whether we win that qualifying game or not. I am sure the rest of the boys will be looking forward to it, they have done well to secure it. I will just hopefully go and try and break into that team as they are more or less going to be first choice until I make a name for myself."
The full article contains 526 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
