Steven McGarry believes Ross County manager Don Cowie pulled off a major coup by luring Josh Nisbet to Dingwall.
Australia international midfielder Nisbet joined the Staggies on a three-year deal towards the end of the summer transfer window, after leaving Central Coast Mariners.
Nisbet had spent his entire career with Mariners prior to the move, racking up 142 appearances after making his debut in 2018.
His final season with the club proved to be hugely successful, with Nisbet winning the A-League player of the year award in a treble-winning campaign for the Mariners.
Nisbet has forced his way into the Australian national team setup, winning three caps, but has not been selected for new manager Tony Popovic’s squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifying double header against China and Japan.
Shortly after joining the Staggies, Nisbet spoke of how he had grown frustrated at being overlooked for a move to European football at a time when a number of his fellow Australian players were making that switch.
Former County midfielder McGarry, who is fresh from leading Sorrento to the West State League Division 1 title, feels a move was always on the cards for the 25-year-old.
Rumoured interest from clubs across Europe
McGarry said: “When I read that there was an opportunity for Ross County to get him, I was delighted.
“There were rumours of him moving to Europe – I thought he may go to Belgium, Holland or Germany.
“These seem to be the places where a lot of the Aussie boys go to, but it’s great to see him at Ross County.
“I have seen a couple of games, and he has done reasonably well so far.
“It always takes time to settle in, moving from one part of the world to the other, but he looks like he’s settled in reasonably well. I hope he goes and has a fantastic season.
“Hopefully Josh can deliver, and no disrespect to Ross County, but like a lot of the other Scottish players if he does reasonably well at a club like that, or St Mirren or Motherwell, there’s an opportunity to step maybe down south or to a bigger Scottish club.
“I think it’s a real coup for the club.”
Nisbet made soaring progress for Mariners last season
Having done occasional media work on the A-League in recent years, McGarry has had plenty opportunity to keep tabs on Nisbet’s progress.
McGarry feels his performances last season marked a clear breakthrough in his career – making it the perfect time for Staggies boss Cowie to make his move.
He added: “I did some commentary work and every A-League game is on live, so you get to see most of the games.
“He was always a promising player in the A-League, making his way in the game.
“But last year I think he just excelled – he had a really top season. The manager, Mark Jackson, played him with a wee bit of freedom.
“He started the season off well, and just built confidence.
“That team went on to win a bit of a historic treble, and had some fantastic success in Asia.
“He played a few different positions for the Mariners, he was a little bit deeper in the early part of his career but he moved up and played that higher role as well.”
Nisbet will relish physical test in Scotland
At 5ft 3in, Nisbet is among the most diminutive players to have featured in the Scottish Premiership.
After making his debut from the bench in a 6-0 defeat to Rangers at Hampden Park, Nisbet has gone on to start the Staggies’ last five matches.
McGarry has no doubts that Nisbet will thrive in the Scottish Premiership, insisting his mentality and technical ability will more than compensate for his lack of height.
McGarry, who has been based in Australia since joining Perth Glory as a player in 2010, said: “He’s not the tallest, and I think people were asking the question of whether he could go and take his game to the next level, and if that affected him.
“He covers the ground really well, and he’s quite adaptable.
“We have seen a lot of Aussies go across to Scotland and do very well, in terms of their mentality to work hard.
“The Aussies love the physical side of the game as well, and they are normally fit as a fiddle as well.
“From that point of view, Josh must cover some amount of kilometres in a game.
“Last season he did really well, you could see his technical ability, hence why he got a move over to Europe – and Scotland.”
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