TSHIBOLA GLAD TO MAKE KILLIE RETURN AFTER EURO STRUGGLE
SOMETIMES a player needs to leave to appreciate his lot at a football club.
After a year struggling to get paid, never mind put down roots, Aaron Tshibola admits it’s with some relief that he has been accepted back into the fold at Kilmarnock.
Twice a loan signing for Steve Clarke at Rugby Park, Tshibola opted for foreign climes when his contract ran out at Aston Villa last summer.
First came an ill-fated stint at Belgian side Waasland-Beveren, where he went from first choice to never picked and made a mid-season switch to Portuguese side Aves.
Tshibola picks up the thread: ‘I enjoyed Belgium. At first I was playing every week, but we went through a tough period losing games and, as a young team, it wasn’t happening, something wasn’t quite right.
‘There was an in-house situation that didn’t allow me to continue playing with the club. I stopped playing before the winter break and, come January, we decided it was best that I move on.
‘I headed out to Portugal, to witness something different. And I certainly got it!
‘I was able to learn a bit of the language, it was a different culture and style of football, but the club was just in a bad situation.
‘It’s never nice to work every single day and not be able to get your hard-earned money. I was paying rent on a flat. We had agreed for the club to pay for my accommodation but that never got honoured. That’s sad.’
With Aves unable to honour the second year of his contract, Tshibola (pictured) became a free agent and gladly accepted Alex Dyer’s offer of a return to Ayrshire.
His dispute with his former employers in Portugal is ongoing. He adds: ‘I’m owed a good amount of my contract at the club. I’ve left that with my solicitors and they’re dealing with that case, which obviously has been discussed with the Portuguese Federation, FIFA and stuff, so hopefully I can get to the bottom of that.’
Keen to secure some normality for his young family — his son Jeremiah is one year old — he has signed up for the season at Killie and will feature against champions Celtic today.
Now 25, Tshibola believes he has returned to Rugby Park a more rounded person and footballer.
‘I’m a more mature, senior player now,’ he explains. ‘I would like to think the supporters will see that I’m more consistent.
‘It’s the simple things that matter. You forget how lucky you are at times. You go to these other places and then you come back here where everything is in place and you go: “Wow”.’
Tshibola admits he was pleased to see Killie promote Dyer earlier this year, making him the Premiership’s sole black manager.
He adds: ‘The gaffer is an amazing guy. There is a demand for more opportunities for black managers and black coaches and it is great to see that happen in Scotland. It’s an amazing step in the right direction.’