Why Emi Marcondes' agent told him he was a 'cold pasta dish'

If that sentence caught you off guard then please know it's simply to convey the same feeling as being in the room when Hibs' new loan signing suddenly delivered one of the more colourful analogies you'll ever hear from a footballer. Post-match interviews can be dull affairs, not least when the player marched into the media room does so after his team were on the round end of a 3-0 defeat.

The result was clearly not what Marcondes wanted on his debut in green and white, but the occasion did hold a special significance for a player who has spent the last seven months on Bournemouth's treatment table. It's been a troubling time for the 28-year-old, and the opening of the transfer window brought as much trepidation as it did opportunity to relaunch his career.

He remains rather philosophical about his misfortune, though, perhaps aided by the words of his representative in that he simply needed reheating to turn from a plate of freezing stodge in something more appealing. Does that make Easter Road the oven? The microwave? Who knows, but Marcondes himself articulates it better, anyway.

"It has been difficult," said the Dane. "It is a weird moment for a football player when you are injured and coming back and the transfer window is open. It is not often that we, as footballers, really talk about it. But it is a situation when you doubt your future. I have half a year left at Bournemouth. But for me, it was important to have focus in every training session, and to make sure I was 100% fit first, and not think too much about the future and my situation but that is easier said than done.

"I have had a great team around me at Bournemouth to help get me 100% fit and get me back in training. I felt very strong in the end. Coming back and playing, I don’t feel like I have been injured for seven months so that is a great feeling. Obviously to play and some good football as well. I want to have an important role with a great team that plays some good football.

"My agent actually said that as a footballer, when you haven't played for a long period, you are like a cold pasta dish. So, no-one wants you and you are not very interesting to eat when you haven't been playing and have been injured. When you are in that situation you have to put yourself in the oven and warm yourself up and that’s how I feel right now. I have to put myself in the oven and make myself edible again and make sure I’m wanted again. That is the picture I like to put in my head. I want to make sure I am a nice pasta dish that people want again."

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Marcondes showed enough in his short cameo against Rangers to show why he is still highly-rated at the Vitality Stadium despite his slide from the first-team picture. Hibs have missed a creative spark of late, and Marcondes will be expected to provide it for the remainder of the season.

But it also means he arrives in Scotland with a significant degree of pressure on his shoulders to turn a struggling side back into an attacking force. Such scenarios, though, are where Marcondes believes he can thrive.

"There is always pressure on footballers and I like that," he said. "I like to feel the pressure and play big matches and that's why I loved it on Wednesday, playing against a great side like Rangers. I am very happy to be here and to bring my skills to the game and the team, and my personality as well.

"I had just Wednesday and the training the day before - just two days - so it is still early for me to say what my role will be and how I can benefit the squad and make the most of all the skills we have because we have quality in this squad. I saw that on Wednesday, sitting on the bench. I feel like we are in a building phase, with new players coming in and others coming back from injury or back from internationals. So, I feel that we will see progress through the next games and I also have to remember and others have to remember that I have been out injured for a long time.

"I just have to get some minutes in at the beginning and build momentum and not be too excited to be back and try to play at 100kph for 90 minutes. I feel very, very good and I feel like I can play already. It is just about me having a bit of patience and not try to go all out at the beginning and trust the process, for the team and for me personally."