'I had a choice, party or work... I chose work'

Roland Idowu had quite the conundrum during the off season.

Having not played for six months, he had two options. Either hit the town or hit the ground running.

He opted for the latter.

Three minutes into the second half against Hibernian on Sunday, it showed he'd made the right choice, getting the breakthrough and sending the Buddies on their way to a win in their first Premiership game of the season.

“I don’t want to say I’m not humble, but I feel I’ve put in the work over the summer for this," the 22-year-old said. "I’m just glad it’s all coming together.

“Before I came here, I hadn’t played for six months and it was a decision for myself – to either go partying throughout the summer or work. And I decided to work.

“It’s hard when all your mates and team-mates are back home after a long season, but I just needed to get my career back on track and I’m happy I’m doing that at the moment."

The Dubliner thanked manager Stephen Robinson for the confidence he placed in him and his style of play.

As seen at the weekend and in Europe, Idowu excels in the attacking-midfield mould where he can "express himself" and the on-loan Shrewsbury Town youngster is aiming to do just that against Brann on Thursday.

"We’re going into that game full of confidence of going into the next round," he added.

“We’ve got a really good squad and I just feel in the Brann game, we’re going to use our squad to the best of our ability and hopefully get a result.”

Should the Buddies get a result, Idowu probably won't need to wait until next summer for a party...