“Nah, not really,” comes his reply when asked if they shared a telepathic football understanding growing up. It has been a long time since they shared a pitch, in fairness, and they’ve both come along way since being coached by their dad in Motherwell’s youth academy. Nicky last played for Barnsley, having made his way from part-time football at Airdrie to successive promotions with Livingston, brief spells at Ayr United and Morton before heading south to Forest Green Rovers.
An old-fashioned, direct left winger, it wasn’t long before the Robins and League One came calling, with Cadden racking up almost 100 appearances in just two seasons, including a trip to Wembley that ended in extra-time agony. Spending the summer as a free agent, he didn’t take much convincing when Hibs came on the scene.
“Playing together is always something we wanted to do when we were younger. In the profession we’re in, there’s not a lot of people get to first team football so to do that with your twin brother is pretty good. I can’t wait to get to play with him. I’ve only played against him once and that was a weird feeling. So I’m assuming it would be the same.
“I was a free agent this summer, and there was a few options down south. But I know how big a club Hibs is and I didn’t really take much convincing, and obviously I can ask my brother how it is. As you see the facilities are amazing. I’m just delighted to be here. If you do well at Hibs then it’s an incredible feeling.
“Chrissie told me he gets on really well with Dave Gray and can’t speak highly enough of him. Once I spoke to the gaffer I could see he was a good guy and what he wanted of me, so I could get on board with that. Playing for a big club like Hibs is something you can’t really turn down.”
Football has always been a family affair for the Caddens, and much of it owed to their parents’ commitment. There was, and still is, some tough love from dad Steve.
“Aww… he’s murder,” said Nicky. “I scored a hat-trick once, phoned him up absolutely buzzing and he was like: ‘this is what you can do better’ while I was sitting in my car with the match ball! But I wouldn’t change it. I wouldn’t be where I am today without what they did for us. I’m sure Chrissie would say the same, it’s just what your parents do.
“My dad was my coach from under 12’s to under 14’s I think. Then when it started to get to the big stage where you get kept on or released, basically he was like, ‘I don’t want to make the decision’, because obviously he would loved me to get signed. He didn’t want to do that, so he left us at 15s, and it’s a big step from 15s to 17s. I don’t know if it’s the same step now because you miss out an age group, so he didn’t want to be the the one making the decision.”