Egli Kaja has had to adapt to life quickly north of the border following an eventful start to his season-long loan move to Scottish Premiership side Livingston.
The Albanian prospect has been coping with life’s challenges on and off the pitch, including a change of manager at the West Lothian club. Egli spoke to the official website as he returned to Wimbledon to train during the international break.
“Playing against Celtic was unbelievable; it’s a day I’ll never forget,” said Egli in an interview with our iFollow Dons channel which can be seen via the link above.
“Then the manager (Kenny Miller) got sacked. It’s interesting because I’m young and I’ve never been through that or experienced that before. The players have still got to play, I’ve got to play. You’ve just got to adjust to the new staff.
“I’m in a flat now by myself. It took a while to adjust at first – what with cooking and doing everything on your own, but I’m used to it so it’s all good!”
Egli remains focused on developing as a player in Scotland, under Livingston’s new manager Gary Holt. He’s hoping to figure against the other half of the ‘Old Firm’, with a game against Steven Gerrard’s Rangers on the horizon soon.
“The manager wants to involve me and wants to keep me there,” said Egli. “I’ve spoke to him and he seems keen on playing me. I’ve just got to keep staying fit and keep working hard in training and get into the team for that.”
The forward may not return to Wimbledon’s training base at New Malden when the next set of international fixtures comes around. Albania, who have games scheduled against Jordan and Israel next month, continue to keep tabs on Egli.
“There are hopes of a first-team (senior) Albania call-up,” said Egli. “I just need to carry on playing and keep getting games in Scotland and hopefully, next month, I’ll get a call-up for them.”
The opportunity to return to the Dons for a short spell gave Egli the chance to see how Neal’s new-look squad, including eleven new signings this summer, is shaping up.
“I feel like the boys are really close together, the banter is really flying – which is good!” said Egli. “I thought I’d come in for a couple of days to train with the boys and see everyone. It’s nice and from what I’ve heard the team are doing really well, getting results and it looks really good at the moment.”
Egli is planning to meet up with his former Wimbledon team-mate George Oakley during his time in Scotland. Geographically it is proving a challenge to organise though, with the giant striker having carved out a successful career at Challenge Cup winners Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
“I’m going to give George a call,” said Egli. “I’ll see when he’s got a couple of days off and if he wants to come down, as I don’t think I’ll go up there! He might come down and see me."