Photo – Rob O’Brien
Author – Ben Monti
To most, Thursday 30th July was just another Thursday. At Harborough Town, it was media day. It was also my first one. I’d watched the brilliant work our media team had produced throughout last season, but I’d never actually seen a media day from the inside. It was seriously impressive. The whole operation was incredibly slick. Everywhere I looked, someone was taking photos, filming videos or making sure everything was running smoothly. Seeing it all up close made me appreciate just how much work goes into producing the content supporters enjoy every week.
There was plenty going on around the Beehive, but if I’m honest, one person I really wanted to sit down with was Harborough Town’s marquee signing, Britt Assombalonga. Andy Sparrow had already done an excellent job introducing Britt to the Harborough faithful in his welcome interview. My aim was simply to pick up where Andy left off and dig a little deeper into Britt the person.
Born in Kinshasa, thirty-three-year-old Britt’s career needs little introduction. A former £15 million striker, ex-DR Congo international and someone who has scored goals wherever he’s been, whether that be at domestic clubs including Watford, Peterborough United, Nottingham Forest, Middlesbrough or during his time out in Turkey, he’s experienced more than most in the game. I thought I might be a little awestruck; however, I couldn’t have been more wrong. It never really felt like I was interviewing a former Championship striker. It just felt like two blokes having a chat. The only thing missing was the pints. The football was always going to be interesting, but what interested me most was Britt himself. Here’s how our conversation unfolded.
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Ben: I know you said in your first interview that, when you first heard about Harborough, you hadn’t heard of the club and that speaking to Mitch was what sold the move to you. But when you were first contacted, what was your honest reaction when someone said, “There’s an opportunity at Harborough for you?”
Britt: “Well, for me, obviously all I’ve known for the last 16, 17 years has been… being in the professional game and training every day. So, it’s a whole different ball game now cause, you know, training two days a week and then the match, it’s a whole different way of looking at it. So, like for me at first it was, is it the right thing for me? Is it the right time? And I think for me it was the right time. And cause I’m doing a lot of my coaching stuff, it does give me time to do my coaching as well. So, to be doing both is amazing.
Ben: You’ve played in the Championship, completed big money moves and carried a lot of pressure and expectation throughout your career. Coming to Harborough is a different ball game, as you say. Does it feel a bit more freeing now?
Britt: Yeah, I think it takes me back to when I first went on loan at Wealdstone when I was 17. Like, so it’s just… coming back into this world, it’s nice, and it’s freeing, and it’s just nice to see, you know, other people still enjoying football and doing things on the side as well. So, it is nice and refreshing.
Ben: On that point, if you could sit down with a young, up-and-coming Britt Assombalonga, what advice would you give him?
Britt: I would… Well, I would definitely say well done for actually going on loan and going into non-league to play because, nowadays, it’s all different with the young kids, and I think especially now, a lot of the young kids probably don’t want to do the non-league thing. They might think it’s a step backwards, but for me, it was like a stepping stone. So, it helped me grow as a person, helped me grow from a boy to a man. And yeah, my advice to him would be… nah, I wouldn’t even give advice. I’d just say, “Well done.”
Ben: Success probably looked very different when you were coming through at Watford, breaking through at Peterborough and then playing for clubs like Forest. What does success look like for you now?
Britt: Success for me is, as a whole, it’s not just about football; it’s about being happy with my family. We’ve travelled a lot. I’ve played abroad, so there’s been a lot of travelling, and to actually settle feels great.
Ben: You’re at that stage of your life now. You’re doing your coaching badges, and you’ve got a young family. Do you see playing football now as more of an escape?
Britt: No, I think it’s probably more about enjoyment now.
Ben: Because you’re more comfortable with who you are nowadays?
Britt: Yeah, I think I’m more comfortable, like I know what I’ve done in the game and I’m happy with how it’s all, you know, turned out, and for me now it’s about being close to family and having a family around and enjoying football at the same time. And adding coaching to it as well, how can you not be happy?
Ben: What are your aspirations when it comes to coaching?
Britt: I would like to take it as far as possible. Obviously, I’ve done my UEFA B; what I want to do next is the UEFA A, keep carrying on with my coaching, and see where it takes me.
Ben: You’ve described yourself as a fox in the box. Is that something you developed over time, or is it just something you’re born with?
Britt: Well, to be fair, because I didn’t start off as a striker, at youth team level I played out as a winger. So, I think naturally, and even when I went on loan to Wealdstone and Braintree, I was a winger until I went on loan to Southend; I then started playing as a striker. But I think because I was scoring goals from out on the wing, I think it was just much easier for the coaches to just put me up front as a striker, so I had to adapt a little bit because, you know, your back’s to goal, so I had to really adapt my game in that sense. But I enjoyed every moment, and sometimes, in my game, you might see me drift out wide; that’s just muscle memory.
Ben: On a slightly different note, you’re a former DR Congo international. DR Congo played England at this year’s World Cup. Where did your allegiance lie emotionally?
Britt: I was supporting Congo. Yeah, I was supporting Congo, as they gave me the opportunity to play international football, and it was an amazing time when I was there. And, you know, the goal I scored for Congo was a special moment; it was Congo Independence Day, and my dad was in the stands watching in Egypt, and it was just surreal.
Ben: Were you proud of the lads? They put up a great fight.
Britt: They almost, almost got over the line, and you can just see how far Congo has come as a nation in football. So, I feel like playing England, it’s given a lot of other players something to think about, you know, like, Congo can go far and produce good players.
Ben: I imagine it was a proud moment for your family as well.
Britt: Big proud moment. Well, to be fair, we were all in the pub watching it with England fans as well, haha. And obviously we scored early on.
Ben: Your career speaks for itself. Do you feel like you’ve got anything left to prove now you’re at Harborough?
Britt: Nah, there’s nothing left to prove. Even now, I take every game as it comes, every training session as it comes, and for me, football is… football is enjoyment. You enjoy it from the minute you start playing when you weren’t making any money. So, for me, no, it’s just the same; it doesn’t change for me. I still enjoy playing football.
Ben: You’ve had a few training sessions and pre-season games now. What have your first impressions of the squad been?
Britt: To be fair, I was surprised at the level; like, the level was really high, and to be fair, all the players, man, you can see everyone’s got quality, and it’s crazy to think everyone is training two times a week, so imagine if everyone was training all the time.
Ben: How good could they be?
Britt: Do you know what I’m saying? But this is the situation now, and I’m really excited to be with all the boys.
Ben: What do you think the Harborough fans are going to enjoy seeing most?
Britt: Hopefully me scoring goals! Haha, that’s the goal, that’s where the excitement is.
Ben: When your time at Harborough comes to an end, whenever that may be, and I’m sat in the clubhouse having a beer with the fans, what do you hope they say about Britt?
Britt: Yeah, I think for me, first and foremost, it’s not even just about the footballing side. It’s you as a person. You want to walk into a building, and everyone be like, “He was a good guy.” Like, you know, first, before the footballing side, the footballing side comes second; you as a person count more, so for me, coming here, even though I’ve had the experience in the league and stuff like that, it doesn’t make me any different to anyone else, and for me it’s as long as you’re a good person and you try your best.
Ben: Well, that was actually going to be my final question. How do you want to be remembered when you hang up your boots? It sounds like you’re more interested in how people remember the person than the footballer.
Britt: Yeah, 100%, 100%, and I think that goes a long way, and you never know what opportunities might come up in the future. Someone might pick up the phone, and someone might have to ask for a reference and be like, “What’s Britt like as a person?” rather than, “What’s Britt like as a footballer?” You can watch me play football, and anyone can make a judgment on that, but really the person is what counts.
Ben: All right, lovely, cheers, buddy. Really appreciate that.
Britt: Yeah, thank you. That was really nice, man. I haven’t spoken about stuff like that in a long time.
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With training due to begin shortly, I was conscious of time, so I had to let Britt go. Genuinely, I could have stayed talking to him for hours to find out even more about him. I definitely would have done had I known he was a boyhood Arsenal fan, a fact I only discovered shortly after our chat. As part of the media day fun, lots of the squad were put through a series of quickfire questions and, with our in-house question master Russell Barder off duty, Harborough Town videographer-turned-commentator Rukanah Mogra stepped in to put Britt through his paces. To find out his answers, continue reading below, or watch his quickfire video, along with the rest of the squad’s, across our social media channels.
Full name:
Position: Striker
Nickname: B
What club did you support growing up: Arsenal
Footballing idol growing up: Thierry Henry because he played for Arsenal, but I also enjoyed watching Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Best player you’ve played with: Mario Balotelli.
Best footballing moment: Scoring for DR Congo against Zimbabwe at the Africa Cup of Nations to help us reach the last 16.
Dream stadium to play at: The Emirates.
Hidden talent: I’m good with computers.
Go-to takeaway: KFC.
What’s your order: A Twister Wrap.
Favourite boots of all time: Adidas F50s.
Messi or Ronaldo: Messi.
Funniest teammate, past or present: Manny Osadebe.
One word to describe the gaffer: Respectful.
Who’s the most famous contact in your phone: Mario Balotelli.
One word to describe this Harborough squad: Proper.
What’s one thing Harborough fans should know about you: I’m a chilled guy.
One word for the season ahead: Excitement.