Aberdeen defender Ash Taylor has spoken for the first time about being caught up in last month’s terror attacks in Paris.
The 25-year-old and his wife India were in the French capital on a short holiday during the recent international break when a series of coordinated attacks resulted in the death of 130 people.
The incident has put the everyday pressures of top-flight football into perspective for Taylor, who will line up for the Dons against Hearts this lunchtime.
He said: “I had been asleep when everything happened, then I woke up with my phone going all the time with calls from family and friends.
“I quickly got on the phone to them and said everything was all right, we were nowhere near it, and we would be home in the morning. It was a frightening thing to be just 20 or 25 minutes down the road from it all.
“I was actually more concerned for my wife because she was in a state of shock.
“I was just trying to keep her calm, thankfully we got home safe. We were due to come home that next day anyway, so it was a no-brainer to get to the airport because we knew security was going to be a lot tighter because of the situation.
“It was great just to get home safe and sound. The airport was very busy with everyone clamouring to get out. The security was non-stop checks, which was really good.
“It actually made us feel better, getting checked every time we went through each area.
“It made us feel better, knowing they were looking after us and that they were working hard to prevent something like that happening again.”
Taylor regained his place in the Aberdeen team for last week’s 2-0 win at Dundee after being dropped for the 3-1 victory against Ross County after a couple of below-par displays.
The former Tranmere Rovers player now hopes to become a mainstay in the side by helping the Dons to victory against third-placed Hearts this lunchtime.
He said: “Of course, like any other player, I want to play every week. Once I come out of the team, I wanted to get the position back. It was unfortunate for Paul Quinn to have a virus – but I got the chance and felt like I’d taken it. Hearts are a good team but so are we. We just want to solidify the position we’re in, hopefully with three points in this one.
“We’ve got a bit of our swagger back. Now we’ve just got to maintain it and improve even more.
“I still think there is even more to come from this team. The way we bounced back from that poor spell shows a lot about our mental strength.
“We’ve got characters in that changing room. When we’re going through a bad run, togetherness becomes incredibly important and we are seeing that now.”