“I don’t normally score many and players from Scotland don’t usually come to Italy. To be with the names like Souness and Joe Jordan is a great achievement for myself.
“All my pals have been texting to say well done and I’ve had a few messages from my old coaches at Hearts congratulating me, as have all my family too. I’m proud.”
Hickey featured 12 times for Bologna last season in his debut Serie A campaign after a £1.5m move from Hearts.
He has now established himself as first-choice left-back, starting all five games this term, and says Italian football has hugely enhanced his tactical understanding.
“The football has been great, I’m learning a lot both defensively and attacking-wise,” he added. “It’s really tactical over here, much more so than in Scotland.
“The most difficult thing is the language. My Italian is not too good. I’ve not been doing many lessons recently, but there’s going to be a teacher coming in after training, so me and the English boys will have to do that.”
