One of Accrington Stanley's star players has said going to university was the 'best thing he's ever done' given moments of uncertainly in his footballing career.
"It was tough coming out of full-time football. I didn’t have any real qualifications and was working at my friend’s pub to make ends meet – it was a tough time for me and I knew I had to get things prepared as football might not be around forever." "I was going to the gym twice a week and started to notice the difference, not just in how I felt and looked, but also my performance on the pitch. We won the FA Trophy at Wembley that year and I played a big part in that. I was playing 50 games a season, but it was all a blessing in disguise and the university played a major part in my success then."
"Having my degree means that while there is the pressure from within that I put on myself, I have something to fall back on. Now I can go out and enjoy myself and see how far things go. My position before at Brackley wasn’t bad at all and I could have had a good career in non-league football, with my teaching alongside it. But I wanted to get everything behind me and if the right opportunity came up I could take it, and not everyone gets to join a League One club at the age of 26.