If Scott Brown was once the ace in Hibernian's pack of prodigious talents, then Ivan Sproule was their wild card. Where the Scot brought aggression, drive and technique to the Easter Road midfield, the Northern Ireland internationalist provided jet-heeled pace, unpredictable forays and a healthy return of goals against the Old Firm.

Each, in their different ways, made memorable farewells the last time Celtic headed into Leith. Brown was lauded off the pitch after an outstanding display capped by a fine headed goal. It was Sproule's last-minute surge, though, that sealed a 2-1 scoreline, Hibs' first victory since the CIS Insurance Cup final.

Brown will tomorrow return to the venue in his new colours, aiming to consolidate leadership of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League for Gordon Strachan's side.

Today, Sproule will attempt to further Bristol City's excellent start to the Coca-Cola Championship season, where they currently sit in a lofty second place.

Sproule's £500,000 transfer out of Hibs in the summer was dwarfed by the record £4.4m banked for the sale of Brown. Yet he believes Celtic landed a bargain whose true market value is already well in excess of that figure.

For all the praise of Brown's skills, though, Sproule feels his major asset is an ability to remain utterly unaffected by the attention he has attracted.

"Scott said he would give me a ring before Celtic go to Easter Road," said Sproule.

"It should be a fantastic game to see him back there.

"We keep in touch and I've kept a close eye on his progress. I knew he would take to Celtic without any problem, but the nice thing is that his personality hasn't changed at all.

"I was chatting to Michael McGovern, the young lad who's Celtic's third choice goalkeeper, when we were together for a Northern Ireland squad. The talk came round to Scott and Michael was telling me that he was now Celtic's practical joker. Scott was like that from the first day I met him at Hibs.

"Away from that, his footballing ability is second to none. He's proving that with Celtic, and proving that his transfer fee is money very well spent."

Sproule has played in games where former Hibs heroes have been barracked on revisiting Easter Road. Gary Caldwell and Kevin Thomson are two whose moves westwards along the M8 generated ill-feeling.

"It will be different for Scott," said Sproule. "He could have really thrown his rattle out of the pram last season, but he stayed and played a major role in us winning the CIS Cup.

"He would be top of anyone's list when looking at a star man over the last 15 or 20 games of last season.

"Knowing the Hibs fans, I would be quite shocked unless they gave him anything other than a rousing reception."

Sproule may now be thriving at a club where The Wurzels are musical associates, but he can easily be stirred into reminiscence by a snippet of The Proclaimers. There will always be sunshine on Leith in his mind.

"I've got nothing but great words for Hibs," said the 26-year-old. "It was a sad day to leave, but I don't regret it because this is the right move for my career. I'm still a fan, though, and who's to say that one day I might not end up back there?

"I didn't leave Hibs because I didn't think they could go on and achieve things. I knew I was leaving a well-run club with good people like John Collins and Rod Petrie to look after it.

"There is still real talent there among the young lads. Steven Fletcher, for one, has stepped up superbly. He's someone I've always thought would go on and do great things and this could be a really big season for him."

The Hibs diaspora is now spread far and wide. Sproule played for City in midweek as they snatched a 1-1 draw with Tony Mowbray's West Bromwich Albion.

It was Mowbray who paid Institute the princely sum of £5,000 to bring Sproule to Easter Road in 2005.

"My old gaffer's team are the best I've come up against so far," said Sproule. "He's got them playing the way I was used to at Hibs.

"I spoke to Venno Mark Venus before the game and with Tony afterwards. It was a familiar story in that we both ended up chatting about Hibs.

"There's obviously pressure on him because West Brom are such a big club and they have to go up this year. But he had time to say nice things about Bristol City and if you are impressing someone like Tony Mowbray then you must be doing something right."

Collins not overawed by midfield class
John Collins may be of the opinion that Celtic now boast one of the best midfields in Britain, but the Hibernian manager is still sure his players can bridge the gulf between the clubs tomorrow.

With Hibs having been regularly raided by the Old Firm in recent years, four former Easter Road players could line up against Collins' side this weekend - Gary Caldwell, Derek Riordan, Chris Killen and Scott Brown.

The latter's return to Edinburgh for the first time since his summer move has been the talking point and despite their unbeaten start to the new season, Hibs could be forgiven for fearing the worst.

Collins, though, saw his team draw with and defeat Celtic at home last term - and feels they can again rise to the occasion. "We're definitely not on a level playing field with Celtic as regards where Gordon goes looking for players and where I go, we're a million miles apart," he said.

"They've been playing great in the league and scoring lots of goals, with plenty firepower and a great midfield. In fact, I think their midfield is as good as it's been for a number of years.

"You won't see too many better midfields in Britain than Celtic's. I've been impressed greatly by Massimo Donati, Aiden McGeady looks as though he's getting better and better, Shunsuke Nakamura is a class act and so is Scott.

"But we've done it before against them, we've got to believe in ourselves - once you go out on that park transfer fees and wages don't come into it. You've got to believe you can win the game."

Collins is, though, sure Celtic will put behind them their 2-0 away defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk and added: "They were the most consistent team in the league last season by far and they're even better this season, so it's an even bigger challenge . . . and we've lost our best player to them."