Naylor On Football Exile

New signing, left back Lee Naylor has talked to the press about his ‘horrific’ sixteen month exile from football.

The 33 year old former Wolverhampton Wanderers and Celtic full back became a full time dad during his spell out of football when he failed to secure further employment after his release from Cardiff City in May 2012.

Speaking to the BBC Naylor admitted he found the whole experience rather weird because he’d never contemplated not being able to find a new club given his experience, and it’s something he certainly never wants to experience again until the day he purposefully hangs up his boots.

‘I’ve never been out of contract before. It’s horrific. I know there are a lot of people unemployed at the moment but I’ve never been without a club and to be without a club for 16 months is not a nice feeling.’

Naylor has played in over 500 games in his career, and boasts three England U21 caps, and in his time as a player even boasts 22 appearances in the Champions League, so it must have been a very strange experience for him indeed – but as he rightly points out – there are plenty of unknown people in the country who have been through the same but not had the opportunity to earn the amounts he has done throughout his career so far.

Naylor isn’t bitter about the experience though, if anything he’ll now value his time in football even more because it quite easily could’ve never come again for him, and he appreciates the other aspects of his life that he got to experience whilst not playing.

Raising his new born as a full time dad, the time with his family without football commitments or travelling, so it’s almost win win for him.

Hopefully he’ll have a fantastic impact for Accrington when he finds himself back in true form.