Riku Riksu is hoping familiarity breeds success for him at Dundee United.
The Finnish international has a close relationship with his new boss Mixu Paatelainen, having worked with him at international and club level.
When Riksi first broke into the TPS Turku team in 2006 as a 16-year-old back in his homeland it was Paatelainen who was in charge.
He also went on to earn most of his 26 caps for Finland when the now Tannadice gaffer was in the dugout.
So the pair go back a long way and Riski believes that can benefit him and United.
“I know Mixu very well,” he said.
“I know his preferences when it comes to tactics and stuff like that.
“Obviously, he is changing and developing as a manager all the time but I think the base is there.
“He has always been direct.
“I’ve not seen how he is here but the way he deals with the players is his style.
“He’s hard but fair.
“Indeed, I’ve played under some good coaches and Mixu is up there with them.
“I know him as a hardworking guy and I know what he wants.
“I really think I can bring what he is looking for.
“He knows I am an attack-minded player who can play a number of positions up front, especially the one behind the strikers.
“I think he wants me to play my game, which is quite direct.
“I will be getting some shots in and hopefully can score some goals.
“I will maybe bring a different kind of energy up front.
“We will see how it goes and I am excited.”
Riski revealed the opportunity of a loan move to United came at just the right time for him, having just been informed by his Norwegian club Rosenborg that he wasn’t in their plans for the forthcoming campaign.
“It all happened quite quickly,” said Riski, who will see out this season with United then still have another year and a half left on his Rosenborg deal.
“I was back in Norway getting ready for the new season and the club told me directly which was a bit of a surprise for me that they wanted me to look for something else.
“They said they had other plans for this year.
“Obviously, it was a challenge for me and my agent to come up with something.
“We heard from Dundee United and Mixu and started to get things going and I was happy to come here.
“I want to play as much as possible so that’s why I said to myself that this is a good opportunity for me to come here.
“I want to play as much as I can and I want to keep my position in the international team.”
Asked if his wish is to prove Rosenborg that they were wrong to decide to let him go elsewhere, Riski replied: “Maybe a little bit but my main focus in coming here is to help the team and get us safe.
“Of course, if you are a player, you always want to prove someone wrong if they say you are not good enough.
“But that’s not the main thing.
“I am not bitter and we’ll see how this goes and then decide after that what happens.”
Riski was then asked the question that all of United’s recent signings have been asked: “Do you realise how much of a challenge the club faces to avoid relegation?”
He answered: “We talked about all sorts of things and that included the situation the club is in.
“We didn’t spend too much time worrying about it though.
“It is what it is.
“I see it as a big challenge for me personally and a big challenge for the whole squad.
“However, it is a challenge that I accept and we are confident that we can turn it around.”
The United fans who made it to Airdrie to see the 1-0 win in the William Hill Scottish Cup tie on Saturday got a glimpse of Riski in action when he came on as a 67th-minute sub for Chris Erskine.
The bulk of the support will now get to see him on Friday night when the Tangerines take on Celtic at Tannadice.
Riksi can’t wait for that one as it will see him resume a rivalry with Ronny Deila that goes all the way back to Norway when the Hoops boss was in charge of Rosenborg’s rivals Stromsgodset.
The new United man said: “I don’t know Ronny personally but I played for almost four years in Norway and he was there also.
“He was at Stromgodset, the rivals for Rosenborg, so I know a lot about him.
“I don’t know what kind of football he is playing at Celtic we will go through that before Friday and I am not so much concerned about them.
“I am more concerned about what we do and how we go into the match.”