Kevin Dos Santos says his faith in God helped him through challenging times at Derry City
KEVIN Dos Santos says his faith and trust in God helped him navigate a difficult start to his career at Derry City and he always believed he would eventually get his chance to shine.
For the Portuguese-born winger his Christian beliefs play a central role in his life and career, providing a 'positive' perspective.
Moving from Canada to the north of Ireland took a giant leap of faith but the well-travelled Dos Santos reckons his patience and faith in Jesus Christ have been rewarded with a fruitful extended run in Tiernan Lynch's team.
"It happens in football and it obviously happened to me," he said of his bit-part role during the early part of the season. "I wasn't getting much time on the pitch but I was patient enough to be ready whenever I got my chance.
"I was doing my work behind the scenes every day. Now I've got my opportunities and it's up to me to keep grabbing those opportunities because I don't take things for granted. "If I don't perform tomorrow, the next teammate will be there so it's up to me to keep performing every game." Derry fans will have noticed his pre-match ritual of making the sign of the cross before entering the pitch, which is evidence of his strong Christian beliefs that have kept him grounded.
"I wouldn't consider myself a follower of any religion," he explained. "I would just say I'm a follower of Jesus Christ. My faith definitely helps because at the end of the day it's not really about me.
"When the tough times were there and when I was going through the period when I wasn't playing, I trusted and knew I would get my chance.
"I was going into training and my teammates could see my head wasn't down and my demeanour wasn't negative. I was always positive just because I trust Him. When tough times come I don't try do things myself. I rely on the word of God.”
Settling into a new country and a new league without his wife, Nelda, and 15-month-old daughter for those first few months on Foyleside wasn't plain-sailing but it was the lack of gametime he struggled with most.
Dos Santos' journey to Derry and the League of Ireland has been unconventional and has moulded him into the player and person he is now. He holds dual citizenship because his parents were born in Guinea-Bissau in West Africa.
He lived in Portugal until he was 12 years-old and moved to Scotland for 'family reasons'. Another upheaval took him to Leeds where his family has made its home, before he returned to Portugal alone to carve out a football career.
The winger spent a short spell with Vitória Setubal in the Portuguese First Division where he signed his first professional terms but he found his way back to England with Northern Premier League outfit Tadcaster Albion in 2020.
An impressive display against Darlington in the FA Cup opened up another door but his stay in the English lower leagues didn't last too long.
Canadian club York United reached out and he embarked on another adventure, becoming joint top goalscorer in his second year. Ottawa came knocking and he enjoyed his best football as they made history by being crowned champions for the first time.
"My first year wasn't good," he recalled. "I ended up having knee surgery for my meniscus which kept me out for seven months. The second year was probably my best year. We won the Championship and I was involved in a lot of goals and was playing my best football. "And now I'm here," he laughed.
"Moving country-wise wasn't so difficult. I've always been moving about especially because of my career. I was in Canada for four years by myself until my wife came and settled there with me.
Commuting-wise it wasn't difficult, it was more about playing. I wasn't playing as much as I wanted. I'm big into my faith and Jesus so I knew there was a plan for me.
"So it was up to me to trust in Him and wait for it. I knew my time was going to come. "And I think there's more to come," he smiled. "I will continue to show my teammates, coaches, and the fans what I've got and hopefully I can do that. I'm harsh on myself but I know there's so much more to bring out."
After leaving Athletico Ottawa where he won the Canadian Premier League, Dos Santos signed a two-year contract with Derry after impressing during their preseason training camp in Spain.
However, he played just 54 minutes of football in three appearances during the first four months of the current campaign before making his mark with a stunning equalising goal in the 1-1 draw with Galway United at Celtic Park in May. That late cameo performance kickstarted his Derry career as he started the following SIX games.
Dos Santos netted his third goal in nine appearances in the 4-1 thumping of Bohemians last Friday night and added an assist for James Clarke as he begins to hit a rich vein of form going into the trip to Pearse Stadium in Galway this weekend.
"You always have to give credit to yourselves. I hadn't been playing but I think I've started the last five or six and having three goals in nine games is something to build on and gather momentum. "We definitely needed that win against Bohs," he stressed. "People watching the game could see the type of football we've been trying to play over the last four or five weeks.
"Unfortunately, we haven't had the results we wanted but it was just about putting the ball in the back of the net. We obviously got that on Friday and got what we deserved.
"We the players needed that win and I know the club and the fans definitely needed it. "Hopefully we can now have more people coming back to the stadiums and watching our games and having our backs."
He scored his first goal for Derry against Galway on a GAA ground at Celtic Park and he's hoping the first League of Ireland fixture at Galway's Pearse Stadium proves a lucky omen for him.
"We've been playing on a Gaelic pitch ourselves so us going there we can kind of know what to expect but I'm sure it will be a good game."