Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Samenjoying newpathafter Airdrieexit
Sam Wardrop says he had to leave Airdrie for his and the Diamonds’sake as he sought a break from football.
The 24-year-old former Celtic and Dumbarton player joined Ian Murray’s League One side at the start of the season but quit just a few months into his spell.
Taking a year out from football, Wardrop is now focused on his business ventures, which include social media videos and coaching, plus a newlyformed podcast.
While it hasn’t been too long since his Diamonds departure, Wardrop says he’s had no regrets. He said:“it’s only been three months. I’ve not really looked back since then which gives me confidence that it was the right decision that I made.
“’I’ve since been working away in the background on other things like my business. With things like my coaching, I’m taking a lot more fulfilment from these sort of things.
“I signed last June so it was quite a while ago now. I was really looking forward to playing at Airdrie. I was impressed by the way the club was run. Airdrie are trying to go somewhere and have ambition.
“I was a couple of months in and started my business a year earlier. I was really enjoying that and finding satisfaction from that. As that increased, the satisfaction I got from playing decreased.
“It wasn’t fair for me to stay until the end of the season as I wasn’t doing myself justice - although I was still very professional.
“Mentally, it was really draining me. Airdrie were really understanding and I felt a massive weight off my shoulders.”
Speaking on the eighth episode of the Lanarkshire Live Sport Podcast, Wardrop admits that he’s not got any plans to go back to professional playing right now.
He added:“i said to myself that after one year, I would review my business and the direction that my life is going in.
“Right now, I am not going to go back to professional football. But I’m only 24, so there is plenty of life left in me. I do know some guys who still the same way I did, and they are still playing.”