WHAT AN UP AND DOWNER AT HULL
Promotion meant Proschwitz was looking for a new club
WINNING promotion to the Premier League was always going to be bittersweet for Nick Proschwitz.
The 27-year-old was part of Steve Bruce’s Hull side that clinched a place in the top flight in dramatic fashion on the final day of last season.
The German striker was a key player in the decisive game with already-crowned champions Cardiff, scoring a vital equaliser before seeing his late penalty saved by David Marshall.
The miss did not prove costly, as Hull clinched the second automatic promotion spot and he went on to celebrate with his teammates.
But Proschwitz, now on loan at Barnsley, was well aware he didn’t have the “trust” of Bruce when it came to performing in the Premier League.
“I am not like 20 years old or something so I know how the business goes and how football works,” he said.
“It was a great season, last season, and very dramatic in the end – a really great year with lots of wins. Steve Bruce created a great team at Hull and for the future of Hull. But I wasn’t playing that much and I didn’t get a lot of trust from Steve. He was under big pressure to be successful from the first game on.
“He was quite honest to me and I have to appreciate this. He said on the first day of the season that it is going to be hard to get games.”
Stark
Despite a pair of important cup goals for the Tigers, Proschwitz had just two Premier League appearances to his name by the time the transfer window opened in January.
The arrivals of Shane Long and Nikica Jelavic for a combined fee of around £13m brought home to Proschwitz the stark realisation that he would be playing even less from now on.
So he headed to Oakwell and after a debut goal against Blackburn he struck a crucial double to earn a point at Doncaster – leaving a strong impression on the Barns- ley fans. “It is good for your own confidence and also for the team,” he added. “They didn’t know me because I have only been in England for one and a half years.
“After the promotion Bruce had a few signings and especially in the winter, when he signed Shane Long and Nikica Jelavic – two great strikers. I think that was the time for me to go down one league and get some match time.
“He gave me the chance to play for Barnsley and now I will keep trying to do the best I can. The most important thing for me is to help Barnsley stay in the league.
“I still believe in myself. I have 15 more games for Barnsley until the end of the season and I am concentrating on this. I believe in myself that I can play there and that I can score goals.”
The German’s ability to hit the ground running is unsurprising, seeing as Barnsley is his 11th club in a decade. But despite a long list of employers in three countries, Proschwitz is convinced the journeyman look of his career is not a reflection on him.
“It’s just happened,” said the former Hamburg, Wolfsburg and FC Vaduz striker.“I had a couple of good years in Switzerland and Germany, where I scored many goals but had to do a transfer.
“I am not a person who can’t settle – it’s just the way it’s gone.”
And with another year left to run on his Hull contract, he’s not even considering the future beyond keeping Barnsley in the Championship – they went into this weekend second-bottom but only two points from safety.
“They are quite good lads but they all know it is a serious situation – they have been here before – and everyone is working very hard,” added Proschwitz.
“I am trying to play every game as good as I can and I am trying to score every game. In the first six games, three goals – that’s all right so I hope I can go on scoring.”