Identify.Develop.Progress.

Football has been the biggest passion of my life for as long as I can remember.

I spent my entire youth career within professional football clubs before moving into the men's game at 18, playing at what would now be recognised as Step 2 level.

But football can be an unforgiving game, especially when you're young. I allowed the heartbreak of releases, travelling with reserve teams, loan deals and the uncertainty of trying to establish myself in the men's game to completely shatter my confidence.

What had once looked like the beginning of a prosperous career slowly started to disappear. As my confidence dropped, I drifted further down the leagues until eventually I found myself playing more local football.

That was when I really started to pull away from the game.

As the years went on, business, having children and the responsibilities of life meant football gradually took more and more of a back seat.

And looking back now, that is one of the biggest regrets of my life. I regret allowing setbacks to define what happened next. I regret stepping away and not continuing to push myself to find out just how far I could have gone.

“It's not a nice feeling getting older and wondering, 'What if I'd kept going?'”

And that feeling has become a huge part of why I am building Apex Player Pathway.

I don't want a young player within our system to experience a release, rejection, loss of confidence or difficult period in football and believe that means their journey is over.

There will always be setbacks in football. Players will be released. Trials won't always work out. Opportunities will come and go. Confidence will be tested. What matters is what happens next.

That's why I intend to work closely not only with every player within our pathway, but with their parents too. I want families to have someone they can speak to for guidance when those difficult moments arrive, and I want our players to understand that there is nearly always another route forward.

If I can use my own experiences — including the mistakes I made — to help one young player make a better decision than I did, then those experiences have a purpose.

I want every player who comes through Apex to know that if they have the ability, attitude and desire, we will encourage them to keep pushing, keep believing and make the absolute most of every opportunity they have.

“I'd much rather see a player give everything to finding out how far they can go than reach my age wishing they'd given themselves that chance.”

In my younger years, I also ran a football academy where we helped a number of talented young players progress into clubs. Some went on to have successful careers within non-league football, while others progressed into the professional game — including Mirsad Ali.

That experience showed me just how important the right environment, coaching, guidance and opportunities can be for a young player.

I'm nearly 33 now, and I still can't sleep the night before a match. I think that probably tells you everything you need to know about what football means to me.

Sometimes you try to move away from something, but you can never silence that hunger inside you. No matter how many times I've stepped away from football, I've always found my way back.

“Apex Player Pathway feels like coming home.”

We're building something I genuinely believe in — a pathway that gives young players something to aim for, supports them through the highs and the setbacks, rewards attitude and hard work, and creates genuine opportunities to progress.

I'm incredibly excited to lead Apex in Leicester and, alongside our team, push the Player Pathway across the UK and hopefully far beyond it.

Because when you find an ethos you truly believe in and combine it with the thing you're most passionate about, you feel like anything is possible.

This is only the beginning.