Caley Thistle's Marius Niculae set for Sporting Lisbon return

Jun 15 2008 Exclusive By Mark Guidi

INVERNESS CALEY striker Marius Niculae is in line for a shock return to Sporting Lisbon.

The Portuguese giants have been impressed with the 27-year-old's form in the SPL and his inclusion in the Romania squad for Euro 2008 has raised his profile further.

Niculae, who spent five years at Sporting and played in the 2005 UEFA Cup Final defeat by CSKA Moscow, is aware of the interest.

But he insisted he is in no rush to leave Inverness and will be happy to see out the remaining year of his contract.

Niculae, who earns more than s4000 a week, said: "I know about things but do not want to be disrespectful to Inverness. I have a year left and it will not be a problem for me to stay next season.

"But if clubs make official contact with Inverness it is up to them what they decide to do. I will wait and see what happens.

"I'm just thinking about the Euro Championships for now as I'm enjoying it out here."

Niculae's return to the international big time has vindicated his switch to Caley.

He replaced Adrian Mutu in Romania's stalemate with France and is now dreaming of qualification from Group C after Friday's 1-1 draw against Italy.

Yet the hitman feared his dream move was doomed when he had to fight the British government to secure his switch from Mainz last August.

And Marius thanked the Caley fans for supporting his battle and making his target of playing at the Euros come true.

He said: "My work permit application was rejected by the Home Office and I had to make a personal plea.

"I told them I would get into the Romania squad for Euro 2008 if they allowed me to move to Scotland. It also helped that Inverness fans signed a petition.

"They eventually reversed their decision and it all worked out. I felt I did well for Inverness and my determination to play at the Euros paid off."

Niculae - who will feature for Romania against Holland on Tuesday night - was signed by Charlie Christie and credits Caley with resurrecting his career.

He said: "When I arrived in Scotland my confidence was low and I had missed a lot of games in Germany because of injury.

"But Inverness raised my spirits and made me enjoy football again. It was a pity when Charlie left because he was a good coach who had the players on his side.

"Craig Brewster is the same and it has been great to work with two managers who were strikers.

"I was happy with my contribution at Inverness. I hope to help the club to success but you never know what is round the corner."