TOBI Jinadu paid tribute to his manager's faith in him after a man of the match display for Harrow against his old club Kingstonian on Saturday.
The giant centre back could not conceal his delight after proving to be head and shoulders above the likes of former Fulham man Ian Pearce, Gary McDonald (exPeterborough) and Tom Hutchison in a Ks side that deemed him surplus to requirements just weeks ago.
Yet he revealed he almost missed the game as he was ensnared in the London traffic caused by the TUC march. Ironically, he missed the reverse fixture in December when still a Ks player - because he was late for the meeting time.
The difference, said Jinadu, was that Harrow boss David Howell showed faith where Ks boss Alan Dowson showed doubt. And Jinadu paid them both back - in full.
He said: "Because he waited for me I had to make sure I paid him back by giving him a performance like that, and it goes to show when you have faith in players and respect players, the players will definitely pay you back.
"On the other hand, when I was at Kingstonian I did the same thing and I was dropped out of the team completely and that is just a little difference in the way the management deals with players.
"I'm not going to lie, it is always enjoyable to beat one of your old teams who not necessarily didn't think much of you, but perhaps you had a misunderstanding with."
The win left Harrow seventh as the Observer went to press prior to last night's (Wednesday) crucial trip to relegation-haunted Croydon Athletic.
