Learning that a player who once wore a Hibernian strip with some aplomb prefers a green-and-white hue to his team’s garments should be of minimal surprise. Tony Rougier’s continued affection for the club , however, has nothing to do with the 18 months he recently spent at Easter Road.

Just as an air of unpredictability governs the Trinidad and Tobago winger every time he infiltrates a football pitch, Rougier similarly cuts a singular character in his spare time. Indeed, he hopes that his Reading side’s date with Wigan in today’s English Second Division play-off semi-final represents the first step towards retrieving the riches of which he was deprived in Scotland.

In his time with Raith Rovers and Hibs, Rougier was constantly menacing, occasionally finding himself enveloped by idolatrous superlatives for his ability to torture an unsuspecting full-back. He clings to the undulating memories of representing Raith against Bayern Munich in 1995, and tumbling into the First Division with Hibs three years later, but he will forever be perturbed by the moment that could have significantly altered his life.

It was in December 1995 that Rougier was pinpointed by then-Celtic manager Tommy Burns. A £500,000 bid was rejected by Raith, before Celtic changed tack and opted instead to sign David Hannah. The rest is history, but it still gnaws at Rougier’s soul. His discomfort at failing to reach paradise is all too evident.

"I was devastated because that would have been the ultimate, the pinnacle of my career to play for a club like Celtic," he says. "Even now, I still dream about playing in the famous green-and-white shirt. I’ve played in many international stadiums, including the Azteca in Mexico, but nothing compares to playing in front of 50,000 Celtic fans. I have a great affection for the club, because even when I played against them, the fans treated me well."

At the moment Rougier revels in a hooped shirt, even if the blue-and-white variety of Reading’s are less distinguishable. After departing Hibs for Port Vale at the outset of 1999, Rougier won their player of the year award and finished top goal-scorer, but could not prevent Vale being relegated to the Second Division. His consolation lay in a £380,000 transfer to Reading last summer.

"Reading were the only club I would have moved to in the English Second Division," he admits. "The aim of the club is to get into the Premiership, and there are 13,000-20,000 fans watching us every week. That makes it an enjoyable place to play football.

"The aim of mine is to play at the highest level you possibly can, and playing in the Premiership is my dream."

His influence in ensuring that Reading snared third in the league table was underlined by his emergence from the substitutes’ bench at Oxford earlier this season to score two goals in a 4-3 away win. It seems Rougier was right to venture south, though he still cherishes the time he spent in Scotland.

"I had a great time in Scotland, and will always have fond memories of playing for Raith and Hibs," he says. "The difference I see is that England has the marketing and know-how to bring in the money. If Scotland could learn how to market the game and sell it to the public, then Scotland could be a top European league."

Rougier hopes close friends and international team-mates - Dwight Yorke, Russell Latapy, Shaka Hislop and Marvin Andrews - can inspire Trinidad and Tobago to their first World Cup Finals next year. After a recent 3-0 mauling in Costa Rica, however, Rougier admits the portents are not positive.

"That result was not good, but we got a draw with Mexico, and hopefully that can spark us. We need to win our next two games to give us a chance, because obviously playing in the World Cup Finals would be wonderful for the country."

First, however, the cauldron at Wigan awaits.

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