Omeonga glad he’s switched Italy madness for life at Livi

SHOULD Stephane Omeonga be part of the first Livingston team ever to win at Ibrox, he will take his place in Lions history. But the midfielder also knows that should his side be sent spinning out of the Premier Sports Cup tonight, he won’t be confronted by a gang of thugs ordering him to leave town.

That was the case last season as struggling Pescara were relegated to the third tier of Italian football and Omeonga and his team-mates were targeted by angry ultras.

After loving a previous spell at Hibernian, the 25-year-old is delighted to be back in Scotland and playing in front of fans who are passionate for all the right reasons.

‘I played around 25 games for Pescara last season but the team did not win enough and we got relegated,’ said Omeonga, who is set to make his Livi debut tonight.

‘Italian football is different to Scottish football and when you lose, the atmosphere is really bad.

‘The fans came four or five times to the training ground to tell us: “If you go down you will have to get out of the city!”.

‘It can be really bad in Italy, especially in the south. When there are 50 or 60 fans coming to the training ground to say that kind of stuff to you it can be hard.

‘I was really low in my mental levels. That’s why I am here at Livingston — to enjoy my football again.

‘When I came into Livingston before we beat Celtic on Sunday I thought: “Livingston can’t be bottom of the league because the atmosphere at the club is so good”.

‘I love the way Scottish people love football and live for football — when it’s bad and when it’s good. It’s intense here but I like it.

‘Scotland feels like coming home for me. It feels good to be back.’

Omeonga (pictured) admits he regrets leaving Scottish football after two spells on loan at Easter Road in 2019 and 2020 while a Genoa player. But he says the situation was outwith his control.

After two weeks spent in quarantine in a German hotel, the Belgian is now ready to hit the ground running with David Martindale’s side.

‘I wanted to stay at Hibs but Genoa were asking for too much. It was just not possible,’ he said.

‘Maybe if I’d waited longer, something might have worked out but I had the opportunity to play in my home country with Cercle Brugge.

‘I took it but it’s something that I regret. Then I signed for Pescara but, after the team was relegated, I did not want to play in Serie C, so I broke my contract and I was a free agent.

‘Before I could come to Scotland, I had to stay for two weeks in a German hotel because Belgium is on the UK’s red list and Germany is on the green list.

‘It was not far from where I live in Belgium, so it was not too bad. I could go outside, so I spent my time doing 5k runs to keep myself fit.

‘My best time for 5k was 18 minutes and ten seconds, but I had hoped to go under 17 minutes. I was getting competitive between me, myself and I!

‘Now I am here at Livingston I want to come here and fight for my place in the team and play every week. That’s the challenge but I think I have got what’s required to do that.’

Omeonga knows that Martindale’s men face an uphill battle this evening against Steven Gerrard’s Scottish champions.

But after watching his new team-mates beat Celtic 1-0 at the Tony Macaroni Arena on Sunday he insists the team will travel along the M8 full of optimism that they can shock the other half of Glasgow’s Old Firm.

He said: ‘Rangers are a good team. I think they are the best team in Scotland right now, along with Hibs.

‘But we showed on Sunday against Celtic at home that we can beat these kind of teams.

Why not? It’s a cup game and anything can happen in a cup game. There is a lot of potential in this Livingston squad, so there’s nothing to be afraid of tonight.’