The Invincibile Man

Brisbane born forward Danny Invincibile, crocked against Partick in only the second game of the season, is set to return this weekend against Hearts. He spoke to the Daily Record yesterday, among other things, about his unusual name, a god send for sports headline writers.

He said: "I've heard everything there is to hear about the name. I don't let it bother me any more. My dad's Italian and my mum's Australian. In Italian it's pronounced slightly differently but it means the same. I remember the first time I came to England. I was coming on as a sub in my first trial match for West Ham. When the announcer said: 'Substitute for West Ham -Danny Invincible' the whole crowd pissed themselves laughing. That was it, my head was down right away. No wonder I didn't make it there! Whenever people hear the name for the first time, they wonder if it's a fake name, a stage

name or something I've made up but that's just the way it is. At least it gets me noticed. If people don't recognise me, at least they recognise the name.''

Signed by JJ from English side Swindon in a surprise deal this summer, Danny impressed in the pre-season friendlies. The fans clicked on to the Aussie theme straight away and he almost became a cult figure before even appearing at Rugby Park. The other SPL managers must have singled him out as a danger man because in the two matches he did manage he was constantly fouled and kicked from pillar to post, which of course led to his enforced lay off.

He said: "It's been very frustrating. When the injury happened it was a huge disappointment. To date, this has been the worst injury of my career. But that's football and these things test us a bit. Full credit to our physio, though. Initially I was told I could be out for eight weeks but he's getting me back much quicker than we first thought I would be.''

Danny boy is impressed so far with the management duo, he commented: "I really think I can excel under Jim and Billy Brown because the way they want to play suits me down to the ground. I went to Il Ciocco with them in the summer and straight away it proved to me how well the club is run. I've never been to a club where the facilities have been better.''

He is also enjoying his stay in sunny Scotland, a far cry from where he was brought up in the weather stakes for sure! He said: "I was in a hotel for a couple of weeks but I've got my own place now, in an area where a lot of the other boys live (Just outside Glasgow). What I've found is that the people in Scotland are really, really friendly. It's

just like being back home. My mum never came to visit me in England but she is planning to come over now that I'm in Scotland because she loves the place and the people. It's hard being away from the family but I've had to get used to it.''

Scotland is probably the last place that Danny imagined he'd end up, especially during his month's trial at the Hammers under Harry Redknapp three years ago. He said: "I then had the opportunity to go to a number of lower division clubs and Swindon was one of them. The experience was terrific and theirs is still the first result I look for. It was a test coming to Britain at about 20 because it was so far from home, but I had moved from Brisbane two years earlier to play in Sydney, so I had some experience of what it would be like."

He went on: "Frank Farino, now the national coach, was the manager of Marconi in Sydney and took me there. It's a

     fourteen hour drive or a ninety minute plane trip so that was

       my first experience of living away from home and it made

     coming here a little bit easier. I don't see coming to

    Scotland as a hindrance to playing for my country at all. This

 is a top league. If you are playing against Rangers or Celtic in

stadiums with 60,000 people and up against top international

players, you are operating in a big league. This is definitely a step up for me. It's higher profile and there is a greater pressure to do well. But that's what I wanted at this stage in my career.

     The games are also live back home, so it gives people in

                Australia the chance to see how I am progressing."

He continued: "Everyone has aspirations to play international football and I'm no different. We've

  got a great team at the moment - which makes it

     more difficult -but having been in the Under

      20's I would like to make the move up. Harry

       Kewell was a year older than me. I came

        through with Brett Emerton. We played for

          the same team for two years and he has

           gone on to do brilliantly for Feyenoord and

             he's now at Blackburn. I'm hoping to follow

               the same path although I have a little bit

                  of catching up to do."