Chris Mepham has said he was scared that his career was over after Chelsea.
“I sort of felt like my time in football was done,” he told Sky Sports. “As I would do, obviously, getting released from Chelsea. Going on trial at QPR, Watford and getting turned away – you question your own belief and where you want to be. At that time I didn’t feel confident in football. I just felt like carrying on trying would be a waste of time.
“Luckily, I had a change of heart and went for that Brentford trial and I’d like to think it has paid off. When I joined North Greenford, in my head I knew that was it really for me. I had the opportunities and was turned away, so where do you go next? Little did I know it would take me here.”
He is now ready to take on the national team journey forward. “The Nations League game was probably the biggest in my career to date,” he added. “Obviously now, a qualifying game, that’s completely different.”
“It’s a different type of test against a very good Slovakia team. We’ve got to prepare in the right way and hopefully we come out on top. I think every game (in our group) is a must win really. It’s important in front of a home crowd.”
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