Town midfielder Kevin Bru has no regrets at turning his back on Bulgarian football after experiencing the “crazy” antics of supporters there.
Bru started out in his native France with Rennes and also had spells with Dijon, Boulogne and Istres, as well as loan spells at Chateauroux and Clermont Foot, before opting in 2013 for a spell in Bulgaria with Levski Sofia.
He said: "I am still only 26 but I have been with a lot of clubs, some on loan. I needed to play some games so I went to the second division and every year I played about 20 to 25 games. It would have been more but for injuries that stopped me sometimes. But that’s life.
"I chose to go to Bulgaria because I wanted to try something different and I played in the Europa League with Levski Sofia. That was a good experience, although the football was very different. The mentality of the people is also very different there.
"The fans were crazy. Never mind if we lost a home game, even if we drew they wanted to get on the pitch and fight with us. There were even times when they got into the dressing room. In one year we changed the coach six times. But it was still a good experience.”
Bru’s stint lasted for one season and Town team-mate Larsen Touré was a colleague over there, the pair being reunited at Portman Road after Bru took it upon himself to play the temporary role of agent and recommend his friend to manager Mick McCarthy.
He added: "Larsen and I played together in Bulgaria and it is good to have him over here. We can speak French together when we are discussing the game so it is good for him as well as for me.
"Larsen was a free agent after his contract had finished in France so I asked him for a DVD of him playing.
"I said to the gaffer that I had a player who was free and asked him if I could show him the DVD. The gaffer was okay with that and then he asked Larsen to come over for a trial.
"After that it was up to Larsen and he obviously impressed the gaffer enough to be offered one-year contract.
"Larsen’s type of football is good for the English game because he is strong and clever too — he plays with his head. He is also fast and I think he is a very good footballer.”
Meanwhile, Bru revealed that his older brother Jonathan is considering a move to China in the January transfer window.
He said: "Jonathan was in Portugal last year and at the moment he is without a club. He is waiting for a club in China and maybe he will be playing against Frank Nouble because he is in China now as well.