They say that patience can be a virtue but for goalkeeper Aston Oxborough, it’s more than that. It’s been a part of his daily professional footballing life. He arrived in North Lanarkshire with very few minutes to his name.
Despite being on the books of Norwich for 14 years, he never actually featured for the first-team.
Training and applying himself every day in a professional manner, the opportunity to showcase his talents never appeared and so, the time came for Oxborough to try something new.
That was in August 2022, when he arrived at Motherwell on the eve of Steven Hammell’s first match in charge as the permanent manager of the club.
“A lot has happened since I arrived,” Oxborough reflected.
“My loan at Barnet from Norwich was the last string of games I got. It was frustrating, it’s a hard club to breakthrough at. I was kept back on training and didn’t get out on loan until I was 21, which is quite late.
“That was frustrating but looking back, I wouldn’t change it as that’s how I’ve shaped myself. Norwich always rated me highly and I was in youth England squads. I was always used in first-team training so when I went on loan to Wealdstone, I was playing catch up a bit in terms of actual games.
“There was so many long balls and direct play with decisions to make. It was great for me. Everyone’s journey is different.
“Nick Pope didn’t play much when he was young but he went right down the leagues and started to play more. Look at him now.”
That lack of minutes became an issue for Oxborough and so he sought a move away from a club he had spent 14 years of his life with. A new environment, league and team was the perfect solution. But as he arrived at Motherwell, there was another keeper standing in his way.
“I wasn’t aware of the keeper situation here until I did some research before I joined,” he explained.
“Liam Kelly had won player of the year awards and had an excellent track record. I knew there might be an opportunity to prove myself further down the line so that’s what I aimed for.
“The first year was harder because when I signed, the manager [Graham Alexander] was gone straight away. So, I had to show what I could do with a new manager and then soon after, he was gone too.
“It’s tough not being able to show what you can do and I knew there would be questions about what I was doing here and what I actually brought to the table.”
What he did bring to the table however was a professional attitude.
As a second choice keeper with limited minutes, the only way you can showcase yourself is on the training pitch, and that’s what he continued to do.
“I had a chat with the manager at the end of that first season,” Oxborough said.
“I said I understood the situation but I needed an opportunity to show what I could do. So, we agreed that I would play two of the cup games.
“It was nice to get back out on the pitch after not playing. You don’t overthink things but you think about how you’ve been waiting for this chance for so long. It puts added pressure on you.”
Those two appearances in July 2023 seen Oxborough save a pivotal penalty against Queen of the South that earned his team a bonus point and also registered a clean sheet in his second outing. But that was all the minutes he seen for the remainder of the season.
However, he remains at the club for his third season as he battles out for that number one jersey with West Ham loanee Krisztián Hegyi.
“The message to me was we think you’re good enough,” the 26-year-old said.
“There was a good understanding of the situation. I’ve been patient for two years and want to give it my all for another year.
At the end of the day, I came up here for a reason. To test myself in the SPFL.”
It’s a similar start to the season for Oxborough as he has featured in two matches during the group stage of the Premier Sports Cup, which has seen him save three penalties in shootouts.
“You don’t practice saving penalties to be honest. I think the frame helps,” he laughed.
“It’s about going the right way using the analysis. Neil Alexander is good with knowing where the player is going to go.
“On the bottle from the match against Thistle, I had a name and where they’re going to go. We have a booklet where it has their last five penalties but the bottle is more precise. I was told to be discreet about it and then I seen there was a photo of me reading it!
“I read the information and that’s where I’ll go unless I see a trigger or his body language tells me something. All the penalties against Thistle said to go right so as the shootout went on, in my mind I was thinking the takers will think he’s gone right so he’ll eventually go the other way, I got two and nearly the third.
“I’ve done better than the games last year and I’ve had a different mindset going into these games. I think last year I put too much pressure on myself, this year I’ve tried to enjoy it.”
