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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Stuart Wilson

Dipo Akinyemi admits Ayr United gamble has paid off after smash-hit season

Dipo Akinyemi admits he rolled the dice to become a star in Scottish football.

Now the Ayr United hotshot wants to finish the job by firing the Honest Men to the Premiership.

Deadly Dipo's 23-goal debut season has made him a cult hero at Somerset Park after last summer's move from English non-league side Welling.

Ayr's number nine has now bagged his second cinch Championship Player of the Month award for his exploits in March.

And Akinyemi says it underlines that he was right to take a punt and move his life north of the border last year.

He told the Ayrshire Post: "Coming up here was a massive gamble because I was coming into a place where I didn't know the football and I was away from home.

"I was out of my comfort zone but it is a gamble that has really paid off this season and long may it continue.

"When I came up with my partner and my little one, it was a difficult decision to make.

"My partner, Sandra, had to sacrifice her business interests down south in order for me to pursue my career up here.

"I really give thanks to her for doing that because she came up with my little boy, Zane, and it allowed us to be here as a family.

"But I knew that once I got up here and started scoring goals, I would prove myself to people in the same way I did at Welling.

"When I arrived people maybe looked at my backstory and saw the number of clubs I'd been at but a lot of that had been loan spells while I'd been at Stevenage.

"Those moulded me into the player I am today - getting the experience of playing non-league when I could easily just have stayed where I was and not played.

"As a young player it's vital to get game time and that's what I did. So I've never been fazed about the amount of clubs I've played for."

Akinyemi's red hot form has alerted suitors both north and south of the border and Ayr had to fend off serious interest for their star man in the January window.

A bid of £250,000 from a club in England's League One was knocked back, but with the striker on a two-year deal at Somerset, United were able to stand firm.

However, they know the vultures are likely to circle again this summer with the Championship's top scorer among the most sought after talents.

Akinyemi, 25, admitted: "January was mentally tough. For family reasons it would have been ideal to go back down south and that was something I had to get over but that is the nature of football.

"Sometimes you get the moves you want and sometimes you don't. But I think everyone can see I've continued firing and the longest I've been without scoring this season is around four games.

"So I've kept my head down and kept pushing for the boys and that's something that's never been in doubt."

Akinyemi added: "The season has probably exceeded even my own expectations, although I will always back myself massively in front of goal.

"Once my confidence comes I'm a different animal and being here at Ayr has really allowed me to express myself.

"The gaffer has been brilliant for me and he knows what I can do. He sees me day in, day out in training and has backed me all the way since day one.

"We're now at the business end of the season and it's all about getting the points on the board in these last five games and pushing towards promotion. We've worked so hard for it all season."

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