Kyle Vassell could well have had his own Wolf of Wall Street story had one moment in his life turned out differently. 

The Kilmarnock striker has revealed that he had the opportunity to become a stockbroker when he left Brentford in 2011. 

The move would have seen him ditch full-time football, to concentrate on a career in the financial sector.  

As it turned out, Vassell’s tattoos were a real stumbling block for the company. When attending an interview, he was quickly asked about them and indeed why his neck was visibly inked up. 

It was a real sliding doors moment for the 30-year-old – but he insists he wouldn’t have changed his path in life so far for anything. 

“My tattoos all mean something, maybe not the best things but they do all mean something,” Vassell quipped. “It’s a part of my life that has made me who I am. I don’t regret it; I wouldn’t change it.  I’ve rolled with it, although it has cost me.  

“When Brentford released me, I was doing MMA at the time and there was a guy in the gym who was a stockbroker. He said he could get me an interview, there wouldn’t be any salary, but I could earn money from the commissions of easy sales.  

“I got a suit; I looked the part. I went in there and the first question was all about my grades, in particular with maths. So, they asked why I didn’t excel with Maths at school, and I told them.  

“The second question was ‘explain your tattoos?’. Then the third thing they said was ‘thanks’. That was it.   

“At that time, I don’t think neck tattoos were as common as they are today, but they definitely potentially cost me a job as a stockbroker.   

READ MORE: Kyle Vassell outlines reasons for extending Kilmarnock stay

“But, at the same time, if I’d become a stockbroker then who knows where I’d have been today? I don’t regret any of it and it’s all part of my story.”  

This weekend, Kilmarnock travel to Motherwell for their first of the post-split Premiership games. Derek McInnes’ men will be aiming to build on their excellent 2-0 win on the road in Paisley last time out.  

Killie are second bottom of the table, currently occupying the relegation play-off spot. They do have the advantage of three home fixtures and two away with the bottom six schedule. 

And Vassell has called on the club’s fans to make Rugby Park an uncomfortable environment for visiting teams to play in. 

He added: “I spoke to the general manager about the games the other day, I think it’s only fair we had three home matches. That’s what we were due.   

“This post-split stuff to me is all very new, I’ve never known anything like this before.   

“When I signed, I looked at the fixture list and I said to my girlfriend ‘babe, the season ends in April, we can book up for the first week of May’. I genuinely didn’t realise there were five extra games.   

“I sound like a broken record; the boys are brilliant we have so much ability in here.  We’ve got more than enough, it’s about getting it all put together on the day, if we can do that, we’re really good.  

“The fixtures are really good for us, but I'd still be confident even if they weren’t. The way the league is set up, it’s a brilliant format. Every game is important, they all mean something, and I can’t wait to get stuck into the games.  

“The fans have been brilliant for us, I don’t think fans understand how important they are sometimes, they can genuinely be the 12th man.  

“I’ve played in games that we’ve won because of the fans; they give you a lease of life and make you want to work and run harder. 

“As many as we can get to Rugby Park for these games, as loud as they can be the better. It puts off the other teams as well. We can be intimidating, it’s a big stadium so we can use that.”