Aaron Tshibola insists peace has broken out with former Kilmarnock team-mate Youssouf Mulumbu despite his side winning last week’s clash against Celtic.
The Rugby Park midfielder got the better of his Congolese international team-mate as Steve Clarke’s men heaped more frustration on Brendan Rodger’s Celtic with a 2-1 win.
Mulumbu was desperate to make an impact on his Hoops debut and found himself involved in a number of head-to-heads with a fired-up Tshibola, who was out to make a mark against his former Killie colleague.
The pair were even involved in an angry squabble as Mulumbu accused his opposite number of leading with an elbow.
But 23-year-old Aston Villa loanee Tshibola says there was handshakes all round afterwards as they left their spat on the pitch.
“Youssouf is a great guy, I learned a lot from him when he was here,” said Tshibola.
“We are fellow international team-mates too but, of course, when you get on the pitch there are no friends in football.
“We spoke about it after and had a laugh. Everything was fine.
“He wanted to do the best for his club, I certainly wanted to show my own form for mine. Youssouf showed his for us last year but I had to say this year is my turn and I’m coming to put my stamp on things and boss it.”
Tshibola is back at Rugby Park after spending six months on loan last year.
Once a £5million signing from Reading, he has been forced to leave Villa Park in search of first-team involvement.
However, the sight of John McGinn moving in the opposite direction after his summer switch from Hibernian has given Tshibola belief that he might yet have a role to play for Steve Bruce’s side.
“It’s just about playing and improving for me right now,” he said ahead of Saturday’s Rugby Park clash with Motherwell.
“The last few seasons I haven’t played as much football as I’d have liked to, so now it’s just about getting my head down and trying to better myself as a player.
“Who knows what can happen in the future. I’m enjoying my football right now and I’m learning from the gaffer.
“John McGinn is a great player and is a great example of what can happen if you do well in this league. He’s got rewarded with his move down the road but for myself, I just need to focus on myself and doing well here.
“I’ve still got two years left at Villa, so who knows what that can lead to.”
Motherwell have taken just four points from their opening six Ladbrokes Premiership games but Kilmarnock boss Clarke is not fooled by that tally.
He said: “You shouldn’t really look too much into the league table before the first quarter games are played.
“It’s still too early to judge things. Motherwell have had some good performances. They pushed Rangers all the way, got a good result away to Dundee, so they are capable of picking up points against anybody.”
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