IT has not been a good week for all connected with Worcester City.
However, I think it is time that a line was drawn under the FA Cup defeat at Godalming Town and players, staff, directors and supporters move on collectively.
We have a league match at Blyth Spartans on Saturday and hopefully things will turn out better.
It is the longest away trip Worcester have to make in Blue Square Bet North and it brings into focus the sacrifices players make.
Travelling is a major part of non-league football and it is a big commitment.
This week we have seen the departure of Asa Charlton due to the amount of travelling and the effect it had on him.
He is from Wolverhampton but he’s a sales rep and swapped jobs, with his new territory being in the Bishop’s Stortford area.
He was juggling his football and work life and, unfortunately, that was too much and he felt is was effecting his game and he was honest enough to tell me that.
But Asa is not the only one. Marc McGregor does a lot of travelling in his job because he lives in Bristol and his head office is in Edinburgh.
Ryan Clarke lives in Sleaford in Lincolnshire so also puts a lot of miles in for the cause.
Then there’s myself. I live in south Worcestershire but I have been moved around in my job from Hinckley to Uttoxeter in Staffordshire, where my office is now.
It can become over-powering when you have a full-time job as well and it’s important not to neglect your family.
As well as giving 100 per cent to your job and Worcester City, you always have to give 100 per cent to your family because they often come third.
During your life you change employers in football and in work but your family are always alongside you.
You have to make time for them and use that wisely.
Over the years, perhaps wrongly, I have prioritised my football over my job and there used to be no lengths I wouldn’t go to for the game.
As I have gotten a bit older, I have learned to juggle three things — my job, my family and Worcester City.
We will spend more time away from our families this weekend as we have decided to travel overnight to Blyth tomorrow.
It takes six hours and to arrive for 1pm would mean an early start on Saturday.
But we only have one of these overnight trips a season and it’s all part of what you commit to when you sign for a non-league club.
They are big sacrifices but we all do it because we love the game and the club.
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