STEVIE MALLAN has opened up on his nightmare time abroad after going an entire year without pay.
The ex-Hibs midfielder is back playing in the UK after spending the last year with Yeni Malatyaspor in the Turkish Super Lig.
Former Hibs star Stevie Mallan has returned to the UK after a nightmare year in Turkey
He walked away from his contract this summer and has now joined Salford City in English League Two.
He’d moved out to join Malatyaspor on a two-year-deal last year after spending an initial six months on loan the season prior.
But it wouldn’t be long before things would start to turn sour.
The 26-year-old saw his wage paid in full for the first month – but was met with excuses and delays from the board every single pay day until he walked out and left.
He’s now opened up on the difficulties of the situation and his delight at being back in the UK.
He told Football Scotland: “Its difficult because you don’t know when your next wage is going to be.
“I’ve got a house in Paisley so you’re still paying your bills, your car, your mortgage and everything so it’s a bit annoying.
“Then you’re having to manage what I already had in the bank so that’s the part I found difficult.”
Mallan was joined by a majority of his team mates in walking out for good over the issue.
He added: “The President of the club came in every month or so and gave excuses like ‘we’re due TV money that’s not came in so we’ve not been able to pay staff and players’ and then there would just be different excuses.
“We were giving them deadlines basically saying ‘if you’re not paying us we’re not going to train’ and we did that a couple of times. We just sat in the changing rooms and refused to train.
“You’re just trying to explain ‘I’ve got family, I’ve got stuff back home to pay for. You don’t know my situation, you don’t know if I’m comfortable to be able to not have any wages coming in.’ “
“I think it depends which country you go to. Everybody I’ve spoken to have had problems with payments in Turkey.
“They’ve all said as well that every club’s the exact same. Even the top clubs, you can sometimes be behind on a few months wages. But where I was you’re not getting paid half as much as the top, top players so it’s more difficult.
“If it was a country that’s known for getting paid on time I wouldn’t rule it out fully because of that one experience. I’ll just need to see what happens in the future.”
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