You would be forgiven for thinking that the versatile forward would be on the fringes for the majority of this campaign, as he came to terms with the increase in quality, but there he was just over half an hour into his debut against Millwall of the Championship opening his account for the Red Devils and giving them a root back into their League Cup first round tie as a result. A moment he recalled fondly in an interview on the club's youtube channel. SEE ALSO Former Tottenham academy player joins Crawley Town | Crawley Town in the FA Cup: Details of second round ties to be streamed live “Making my debut against Millwall was something I would have never dreamt of, two years ago I was playing in the Ryman North for Witham Town struggling with relegation. It probably would have been nicer with some fans but it’s always nice to nick a goal early on and settle things down.” Off the pitch, sharing accommodation with his fellow teammates has made the switch a lot smoother for the 24-year-old. “I live with Tommy Nichols, Jordan Tunnicliffe and I did for a little bit with Sam Matthews as well, they’ve helped me massively. Also the staff, asking them what I need to work on and how I can improve. Generally the staff and the players have made it easy to transition over.” Non-league football success stories are well publicised nowadays with Jamie Vardy and Michail Antonio having been involved in the England national team setup coming from humble beginnings. Ashford is grateful for his background and determined to push on in the English football league. “I want to be the hardest working player in any team that I go to and play as high as I can, I don’t know what the future holds but as long as I keep working hard, I’ll see where it goes, but at the moment I just want to be the best player I can at Crawley.” When asked about the differences between professional and semi-professional levels, Ashford added. “Everything is just a little bit higher, sharpness, physicality, tactics, there are players in non-league that probably could step up, just generally every attribute is a little bit harder.” He also had some kind words for his manager and internet sensation, John Yems. “I thought he would be really strict but he’s always joking, the players are thriving under him.” You can look out for Sam Ashford and the rest of the team as they host Carlisle United this Saturday at 1.30pm, gunning for a fifth consecutive home victory. Report by Marcus Ally
