Ade Akinbiyi is relishing the chance to help set Notts County on course for the Premier League.
Striker has no regrets about coming back from America
Ade Akinbiyi is relishing the chance to help set Notts County on course for the Premier League - so much so he turned his back on sunny Texas.
The veteran striker was released by Houston Dynamo in August after a five-month stint in MLS and was considering a coaching career in America.
But instead the former Burnley and Leicester man was lured back to England last month to join the Magpies' revolution.
"I finished out there and wasn't sure whether to go straight into coaching," he told
skysports.com. "I had the option to do some coaching out there but I got the call to come here and thought why not give it a go.
"I spoke to (assistant manager) Dave Kevan way before I went to America and he said if I ever wanted to play for him, just give him a bell, and he'd try his best to get me into the club.
"At the time I wanted to experience going out to America and when I finished that, I thought I'd give it a go here.
"It's great to come to a club that's got a lot of ambition. The board wants to push the club up to the Premier League in the next five years and it'd be nice to be a part of them going up this season."
Back to normality
Akinbiyi left Burnley in March to try his luck in America and hopes to return Stateside once his playing days are finally over in the next two years.
The 35-year-old has just started doing his coaching badges and is looking at youth coaching rather than becoming a top-level boss.
"I've settled in quite well here, I'm enjoying every minute of it and I'm just looking to get on with my football, but the main difference has been the weather!" he joked.
"It was absolutely roasting out there so sometimes we had to start training really early in the morning.
"They rushed to get me out there so quick and not to play a lot of games was a bit disappointing but I did enjoy myself out there, I really did.
"I wasn't looking forward to the plane journeys for each game but I found that OK, and the standard wasn't too bad actually - they've got MLS and the USL (United Soccer Leagues) below that.
"But now I'm back to England, I'm back to normality and just getting on with it."
