DISENGAGED
Dan and fiancee out for months before striker took his chance
KILMARNOCK striker Danny Whitehall endured a five-month wait for his first Premiership start.
But the midweek penalty hero admits his frustrations are nothing compared to his American fiancee’s volleyball career being placed on pause.
Whitehall has confessed he owes Jillianne Bax big time for moving from Nebraska to be with him as he pursues his football dreams in Ayrshire.
They’ve both required patience as Whitehall played third fiddle to forwards Eamonn Brophy and Nicke Kabamba at Rugby Park.
And other than some playing time on Troon beach in better weather, the volleyball season has been a write-off for former Hastings College ace Bax. Despite those difficulties, the couple are content in Scotland and hope agreement can be reached to extend their stay beyond this month.
Whitehall’s six-month deal is up after Ki l lie host Hamilton next Saturday so the timing of his first Premiership goal, a penalty at Motherwell in Wednesday’s 2-0 victory, was spot on.
He said: “It’s come at a good time with my contract up. Maybe that was part of the gaffer’s thinking in playing me – to see if I was worth it or not!
“There’s nothing really concrete on that yet. I’d be keen to get it sorted but that’s up to the gaffer and people on the board.
“But I am very happy here, my fiancee has moved from America to live with me and we like it at Killie.Killie I met her when I was in Nebraska on my scholarship at college. She was on the volleyball team.
“The English accent helped that one! She found a volleyball team here, played a bit on Troon beach for them and she was one of the better players.
“But unfortunately because of aall the Covid stuff going on there the was no indoor season for her. That’s not been easy for her so I’ve got a long-term debt de to her for this. “I’ve said that if I wasn’t playing pl football I’d be back over ove in America. So once we’re we’r done here, I think we’ll travel back and live over there when we’re older. “But for the moment we’d like to stay, she quite likes it too. We’re close to a beach here so she was loving that. Nebraska is 10 hours away from one!” Whitehall signed for Killie following a 13-goal season with
Maidenhead in the National League. But he’s found either Brophy or Kabamba favoured for the striker’s berth.
He added: “It’s been a little bit frustrating for me. Everyone wants to play and the gaffer picks the team he thinks is best for that particular game.
“Thankfully my name was in his head for Motherwell. It was nice to make a start, to score and contribute to the win.
“When he told me I was in he said to try to enjoy it, play your game, win us fouls. And, if I got my chance, to take it.
“Thankfully I did that. If
Broph and Nicke weren’t such great guys then I wouldn’t like them because they’ve been playing ahead of me. But there’s a really good camaraderie between the three of us.
“Whoever is picked to do the job will do it to the best of their ability. It was a really good team performance against Motherwell and a much-needed three points.
“We tried not to think too much about the run we’d been on but there was big relief in the changing room after the game. Hopefully we can kick on from here.”