Hearts star pulls no punches on brutal Oxford United spell that taught him major footballing lesson
His time at Oxford United did not go to plan but it taught the Hearts star a valuable lesson.
He wasn’t able to speak with those nearest and dearest in aftermath of Oxford United matches - and that’s taught Stuart Findlay a key lesson as his Hearts spell begins.
The Jambos defender is on a season-long loan deal at Tynecastle from the English Championship side, with his deal down south up for good in the summer. He has instantly made himself a regular in maroon but since joining his parent club from Philadelphia Union in 2022, Findlay has featured 44 times, spending two years on loan at Kilmarnock where he worked with current Jambos manager Derek McInnes.
He was an Oxford regular in the 22/23 campaign but that season was challenging, finishing 19th in the 24-team English third tier. It’s a period of his career that Findlay doesn’t look back on with too much fondness but admits leaving that behind for Killie, coinciding with the birth of daughter Phoebe, proved to him that football doesn’t have to be his be all and end all forever.
Stuart Findlay on time at Oxford United
He said: “I think for everybody who plays football, football is their life. Especially when you're a young boy, your up and coming career, all you look at is what sort of area your career can go. I remember when I went to Oxford from America after not playing and I didn't have a good spell at Oxford. It really hit me hard.
“I used to go home from games and my wife knew I wasn't going to talk to her for the next two or three hours, two or three days sometimes. It was horrible. It's a horrible sort of area, time in my life, sort of mentally when it came to that. Football was the be-all and end-all and that wasn't going well. It was just really hard to take.
“You come up to Kilmarnock again, sort of find your form and it coincides with your daughter being born and you realise what life is all about. It sort of coincides with the less pressure you put on yourself sometimes the more performances you can put in and I think it was a really, really good change in my life. Obviously, it's the best thing that's ever happened to me. I think if you're happy off the pitch, it helps you on it. I think that's shown that the sort of performance that I've put in over the last 18 months is back to where I want to be and I think that's obviously got something to do with it.”
What Hearts star gets up to on international break
With a fortnight away from competitive action, Findlay will get to enjoy some down time, and family is at the heart of it. He added: “Everybody wants to aim to be in the international squad but as you’re not and you might have a few days off I think it's really important for me to spend time with my family, with my wife. Hopefully taking my wife away for her 30th birthday. Obviously when you've got a newborn baby, you don't get a lot of time yourself.
“But to be able to implement it, you have to understand when I get to my certain age that there is more to life than football. I think when you're happy off the pitch, you're happy on it. It's been a hectic start to the season. We can sort of rewind, relax, almost recharge the batteries over a couple of days if that's what it's going to be. Make sure we're fighting and raring to go for the next branch of games before we get to do that again.
“My little daughter, she's going to be two in October, so she's getting to that good age now. Football used to be the one and only and everything. Now football is the job and being home being a dad is the only thing that you worry about as well. So it's good that it can give you that escape from football. My daughter doesn't know if I've just beaten Celtic 3-0 or if I've just been beaten 3-0.
“She just knows that dad's coming home from work and you get to spend some time with your daughter. You realise that there's more to life than just football sometimes. I think that can actually help you because you maybe take that little bit of pressure off yourself and you realise what there is out there. I think since my daughter's been born, my football thrives off the back of it. I'll use her as the reason for that!”