Bal-kan do the business for Pars

The new Toddy has ambitions for Dunfermline and for Bulgaria

Promotion to the Premiership and attracting the eye of his national team manager - the goals of Dunfermline’s latest signing are certainly not on the low side. Striker Nikolay Todorov completed his move from Inverness Caley Thistle to the Pars and told the media in his first interview that he was delighted to have completed the deal and expressed his thanks to Peter Grant and the Dunfermline board for getting it over the line.

The 24 year old has played at East End Park as an opponent for Livingston, Queen of the South, Falkirk and Inverness and every time he has been impressed by the stadium and the fans. All that had a major say in the Bulgarian’s decision to join Dunfermline Athletic:-

“When I have played here it has always been a tough place and the fans have been incredible for Dunfermline when I had to play against them. Unfortunately last season we could not see the fans but they are a big part of why I am here, and I hope they are allowed to come and watch us this season.”

Nikolay met his new team-mates for the first time on Tuesday and after a double training session confessed:-

“It was really tough but it was a great first day. We have great facilities and I know some of my team-mates from before, the team looks really good.”

Leaving the Highland capital was a big decision for Nikolay not the least because it was was where his eleven month old son, Alexander, was born. A reason why Inverness will always have a special place in his heart.

“I’ve played some of my best football there, so it was a really tough decision. However, I really wanted to challenge myself, take a step forward in my career and possibly be part of a team that will possibly challenge for the title and promotion.

“I spoke with a few friends who have been part of the club and they described it as a sleeping giant in this league. We are aiming to win the league and, even if we fall short in second, third or fourth, we are still in the game for promotion. We need to set our standards up high and do the best we can.

“The facilities, the stadium are all there for me to step forward. As I said I want to go and challenge myself. I think I am in the right place.”

Nikolay featured in all but two of Inverness’s matches last season and scored in each of the Caley Jags first three Championship matches. Goals dried up a bit until March and then he hit six in a five game spell. He commented:-

“I feel like I started the season really well and then I don’t really want to discuss what happened in between, with the change of managers, but then I ended the season well.

“I have always put the team first and played in the best interests of them. We had a really good, strong bond at the end of the season which helped me and the team, and I scored a few goals. Any club that I decide to join, I will walk through a brick wall for my team. That is who I am and what fans will get from me.”

It appears that the Pars did well to secure the big striker’s signature with him confessing surprise by the amount of interest in securing his services, including from the Premiership and elsewhere in the Championship and in England. Hard discussions were had with his wife and agent, but when he spoke with Peter Grant and the people in charge a Dunfermline he sensed the ambition to go forward and he yearned to be part of it.

“Everything else just disappeared as far as I was concerned and I wanted to get it done as quickly as I possibly could.”

The Judicial Panel of the SFA cleared Nikolay from an allegation and agreed that his conduct against Raith Rovers on 16th March was entirely exemplary despite the extreme provocation, alleged racist abuse and fouls he was subjected to.

Raith’s Iain Davidson was handed a four match ban by the SFA for making discriminatory comments and Nikolay still feels the incident is not worthy of attention:-

“People like this don’t deserve any attention. I feel happy, I was quite calm the whole way through because I had to play really important games and it didn’t affect me.

“I always knew I had done nothing wrong. The truth came out. I was not happy about it because I had nothing to win from it, except people like that should be punished. That kind of manners and behaviour have no place, not only in football, but in life anywhere.”

In 2019, Nikolay Todorov received widespread plaudits for condemning his home country Bulgaria’s fans for racist chanting during their 6-0 defeat to England. His posts on Twitter supported the way the English players had dealt with the situation:-

“I said in one of my tweets that I praised how England handled themselves against my home country. That was absolutely disgusting, what happened with the fans there but I praised the England players and just took an example from them.

“It was quite a hard situation but I’m happy with how I dealt with it. I didn’t get myself into trouble and the guy got what he deserved.”

It is for his footballing success that Nikolay wants to make a mark for Bulgaria and it has not escaped the striker how Kevin Nisbet had used the stepping stone of Dunfermline on his way to the Scotland international team:-

“I’ve seen Kevin Nisbet, I’ve played against him, and he did really well for Dunfermline. He’s representing Scotland now and that’s the dream of every footballer. If you don’t dream about representing your country and playing at the highest level you’re in the wrong job. So, that’s obviously one of my dreams.

“Me moving from Inverness is a step forward and I’ve already had discussions with the current Bulgaria manager. They had some interest after the season I had. Of course, it’s my dream. Part of my family still lives there and I represented the national team at almost all the youth levels up to under-21s.

“Every time the national anthem starts and all my friends and family are in the stands, the feeling is unbelievable. I just can’t imagine what it would be like to represent your full national team. That’s what I work towards but I have always said as well that you need to do your job first in your club.

“I’m really focused on getting a good pre-season and then start well in the games. If it happens then it happens but that’s what I work towards and hopefully it will happen in the near future.”

Even the very fact that his international manager is monitoring him creates motivation, confidence and the good feeling that it means you are doing your job right. He summed it up promising his allegiances to Dunfermline in the meantime:-

“It will happen at the right time, and until then I will work as hard as I can in training and in my free time. I look after myself and my body and give myself the best opportunity, so that when the games come I’m ready to go and I can give what’s expected of me.”

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