DYNAMO JOE HAS JUST GOT BETTER AT DARLO
DARLINGTON midfielder Joe Wheatley says EFL clubs will be signing a better player than the one ditched by Middlesbrough in 2017.
The 21-year-old signed a two-year deal at Boro in 2015 and made his debut for the Teesiders in a Checkatrade Trophy defeat to Shrewsbury the following season.
He also clocked up 24 appearances in Premier League 2 but was released following the club’s relegation from the top flight.
Picked up by Darlington in National League North, he was called up by England C in May and on Friday played a starring role in his side’s 4-1 victory at the V9 academy.
“It feels a lot nicer now than it did 12 months ago,” he admits.
“I’d been at Boro all the way through from when I was a kid. Then I got that contract and tasted life as a professional.
“So to get let go was very painful and, for a while, I felt very down. But coming to Darlington has actually been great for me. I’ve enjoyed myself more, and the gaffer, Tommy Wright, has backed me all the way.
“Academy football is very fake. It’s ‘You have it, we have it’. There’s nothing at stake. But since I’ve been at Darlington, it’s been a battle and scrap.
“You see what it means to people to win games. It’s made me more of a man and I definitely think I’d go back a better player.”
Of last year’s intake, Alex Penny went to League One Peterborough, Lamar Reynolds to Newport County, Blair Turgott and Danny Newton to Stevenage, Mickel Miller to Hamilton Academicals and Elton Ngwatala to Dundee in the SPL.
On Tuesday, several of those players returned to give a pep talk and Wheatley says he was inspired.
“For all of us, the dream is to get back into the EFL,” he adds. “And we know it’s mainly about have the right game, at the right time in front of the right people.
“You come here hoping, but the three lads who did a talk make you realise it can happen. Some of them were 26-27 and they all talked about never giving up – that if you’re good enough, you’ll get there.
“Whatever happens this week, you’ve got to remember that.”