Filip Helander insists Scottish football is ruined by long-ball merchants as the Rangers defender criticised the standard of play.
The Ibrox defender's debut was delayed by the form of Nikola Katic but has been in the team in recent weeks before an injury ruled him out of Saturday's win over Hamilton.
The £3.5m summer signing is now with Sweden preparing for Euro 2020 qualifiers against Malta and Spain but is a major doubt for the double-header.
And Helander, in an interview in his homeland, admitted he's been taken aback by the direct nature of the Premiership.
He said: "I did my pre-season a little later than anyone else and wasn't playing much in the beginning, but now it's good and it's fun to be playing for a team who win a lot of matches and who are top of the table.
"I've enjoyed it. It's a different type of game compared to Italy.
"Scottish football and Italian football both fit my style quite well. It's very physical in Scotland. There's really a lot of long balls and our opponents are a lot worse than us. They try to ruin games, but you learn from that too.
"Steven Gerrard is a very good coach and he was a player I had great respect for and watched a lot. I think he's clearly a very tactically-capable coach too."
And Helander is hoping he can shrug off his foot knock for Sweden's vital qualifiers.
He said: "I have had problems on and off with my foot since last spring, but it actually feels okay just now.
"I had a good rest over the summer, but I've had a lot of matches recently and it's not really healed, but I feel in good shape anyway.
"We play Malta first and it's a match where we should be taking three points. We won't underestimate Malta, but we know we must win and we are a better team than them."
