Mario Bilate has opened his heart on his Tannadice torment and admits he felt jinxed due to his run of injuries.
The emotional Dutchman left Tayside last week after coming to an agreement with Dundee United, where he had nearly a year of his contract still left to run.
Bilate, who joined United from Dutch side Sparta Rotterdam in the summer of 2014, is back in his native Netherlands where he’s working round the clock on his rehabilitation in the wake of a devastating season-ending knee injury which he sustained in training recently while on the verge of a first-team return with United.
The 24-year-old arrived in Scotland with high hopes of making a big impact but instead he hit rock-bottom on the back of a spate of injuries which robbed him of the chance to star for the Premiership club.
Speaking for the first time since leaving United, Bilate said: “I’ve never known a time like it. To be honest, I have felt like the unluckiest man on the earth in the past 12 months.
“That’s basically how I was feeling during those dark days. Like any human being, I have emotions so I felt really useless some days sitting in my apartment in Dundee and not being in a position to contribute.
“I wasn’t able to do what I came to Scotland for in the first place because of injury to show what a good player I can be and that was very frustrating.
“After all, I had left everything behind, including my family, to come to Scotland for the sake of my career, but through no fault of my own I was denied the chance to do so.
“It just didn’t work out the way I was hoping.
“Quite honestly, I couldn’t have envisaged spending so much of my time time in rehabilitation.
“So, all in all, it was the best decision to move on because if I’m not playing then it’s the best thing for me to be back in Rotterdam, surrounded by my family and friends, as that’s where I will be doing a lot of my rehab.”
Bilate was released from his contract after making only two appearances this season having overcome long-running hamstring injury trouble towards the end of last season.
He will be best remembered for a stunning winner against Motherwell at Tannadice back in August 2014 and a penalty in a 4-1 win over rivals Dundee at Dens Park the following month, but his time at Tannadice was blighted by rarely being fully fit.
Russian-born Bilate admits people will always associate him with being injury-prone but insists he’s intent on coming back stronger in the future.
He said: “People can only judge my time at Dundee United one way. That’s fact.
“I was injured for the most part of it and never able to get a run of games to show what I’m really about.
“The one highlight which supporters and others will recall is my goal that night at Tannadice to win the game against Motherwell.
“That was such a high that night and I felt like I could really kick on and start a new chapter in my career, but, as I well know, that didn’t happen.
“Injury did curtail my time in Scotland but that’s not reflective of the rest of my career.
“I never had any serious injury problems at Sparta Rotterdam or even before that.
“Obviously, I hope it’s not a sign of things to come because I am so determined to get back to 100%.
“Right now, I am working in Rotterdam with a guy who’s highly recommended and it’s five or six days of the week.
“I know what I need to do to regain 100% full fitness and that’s what I am focusing on.”