I slaved away as mechanic before getting big brake
Nicke Kabamba could only dream of playing at arenas such as Celtic Park when he was earning a crust working for a car rental company.
The striker maintained cars to fund his dream of playing pro football while turning out for Hampton and Richmond Borough.
Since going full-time with Portsmouth in 2017 he has bobbed around the English lower leagues, playing in front of 4000 fans each week.
But this afternoon he will strut his stuff in front of 60,000 when Killie run out at Parkhead.
And the 27- year- old reckons he will have a few particularly interested spectators of his own.
He said: “This will be the biggest crowd I’ve played in front of. Our average crowd in the Vanarama National League was around 4-5000.
“But when you get on the pitch you zone in and focus on the game in front of you.
“Games at Parkhead and Ibrox are an added bonus of playing in Scotland.
“Working for the car rental firm was never going to be my career – I was just waiting for my break.
“I was always going to make it but I’m grateful to have this opportunity.
“Some of my friends support Celtic or Rangers and it’s funny when they message me about our games against them.
“A few friends who played with me at Hartlepool will be at Parkhead.
“We’re the underdog. But that would make it sweeter if we got one over on them.”
Kabamba’s name is already well known to Hoops fans after netting on his Killie debut in a 3-1 defeat by Celts back in January
With four goals in the bag already, the Englishman admits he did his homework before heading north.
He said: “I have a few friends who play in this league. I had a bit of a chat with them to see just what it’s like.
“When I was offered the chance, I knew it was the perfect next step. I only found out about the move the day before I arrived.
“It has been a whirlwind but I’m glad to be here.
“It was my career highlight scoring against Celtic.
“But the 2-1 Rangers game this month was more enjoyable, even though I didn’t score, because we actually beat them.”
Ki l lie’s woeful home record against Aberdeen continued on Wednesday night as the Dons won 4-3 after extra-time in a Scottish Cup classic.
Kabamba was deflated as he thought he had grabbed the winner after prodding home in the 116th minute.
An even tougher test lies ahead at Parkhead where Alex Dyer’s men haven’t recorded a victory for almost seven years.
With dreams of Hampden now a distant memory, the Rugby Park side have their eyes on a top-six spot.
Kabamba said: “I thought the Aberdeen game was done after my goal right at the end. It was frustrating.
“We’ve got to take the positives and our aim now is to make sure we qualify for the top six.
“The gaffer has been hammering it into us that we must strive to get into the top half now.
“We have to pick ourselves back up after Wednesday.
“Games like this one against Celtic are the ones everybody wants to be involved in.
“But we must stay consistent and make sure that we compete well in all our games – not just the big ones.”