FUNSO Ojo has revealed that he feared his football career was finished when he was loaned out to Wigan Athletic by Aberdeen last season - and was considering becoming a personal trainer.
Ojo scored his first goal in 81 appearances for the Pittodrie club against Hearts at Tynecastle on Sunday to earn the visitors a 1-1 draw in the cinch Premiership match and keep them level with leaders Hibernian on points.
It was a sweet moment for the Belgian midfielder who suspected he may be forced to change profession when he made a temporary switch to English League One outfit Wigan back in January.
Asked if he thought his time at Aberdeen was over, he said: “Not only my Pittordie career. I told my missus: ‘Let’s just go back home and we’ll see what happens’. I was almost done with the game, if I am being really honest.
“I had one year left, so I would have been a good team mate and supported the guys and tried to give some knowledge and then, after the end of the season, I would have headed back home and then see. Drain the savings.
“Over the years, I have used my time wisely. I have done some things in real estate. I have done a PT course as well, so I have got options and I was ready to explore those options. But that is not the case now. I’m still a footballer.”
Ojo credits Leam Richardson, who he worked under at Wigan, and Stephen Glass, who succeeded Derek McInnes at Aberdeen in March, for helping him to rediscover his love of football in the past seven months.
“I just kept my head down in pre-season and did what they told me even if I didn’t like it and it worked out,” he said.
“It started at Wigan with Leam Richardson. He got my joy back in playing and we got a good result at the end of the season by staying up.
“But then coming back we did a lot of passing drills and that is stuff I like to do during the week. I told him (Glass) that training during a week does a lot for me even if I am not in the squad and don’t play.
“If I enjoy myself Monday to Friday, you’ll have a good guy in me and I’ll support the team mates. The training sessions have just been that good.
“Obviously, I like him (Glass). I like the whole staff and just everything around the club at the moment. I am still happy to be an Aberdeen player.”
Aberdeen accepted bids from Salford City and Wrexham during the summer - but the former PSV Eindhoven, Royal Antwerp and Willem II player refused to leave.
“It wasn’t really a difficult decision because I still had a year left,” he said. “It’s a good contract and not something you just give up easily.
“Obviously, the joy has to be there and I’m not just going to extend my football career unhappily. So it was an easy decision to just sit this contract out even if I was not playing.”
The 29-year-old was pleased when he heard the Aberdeen fans in the 17,449-strong crowd in Gorgie chanting his name on Sunday after he had turned a Dean Campbell delivery past Craig Gordon and into the net from close range.
“That song was around the first season,” he said. “They just didn’t do it for that long! But it was a boost. I was drained after the European game on Thursday and the travel, but that is something that keeps you going and pushes you on.
“Normally I am not there to score goals. But this season it has changed a bit and it was a good one to get.”
Aberdeen lost the first leg of their Europa Conference League play-off 1-0 to Qarabag in Azerbaijan last week and need to win by two clear goals at Pittodrie on Thursday night to qualify for a continental competition for the first time since 2007.
However, Ojo is confident the home support will help him and his team mates to overhaul the deficit and progress.
“It has been 14 years since we have been this close, so we know what’s at stake,” he said. “The chairman is pushing us, the people behind the scenes are pushing us and we think it is there.
“The away leg was 1-0, but we were happy with that given the circumstances. The heat was very intense and the pitch was hard. They are a good team and we expect them to give us something on Thursday, but we’re just confident we will do it.
“We have the fans at home. I think it will be a full crowd. But I just think our football abilities will get it done.”
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