Walsall's Liam Gordon thankful for non-league journey on route to the Bescot

Years of hard work had culminated in the memorable moment when he signed on the dotted line to officially become a Bolton Wanderers player.

Following his release from AFC Wimbledon at the age of 14, Gordon embarked on the non-league root with Carshalton Athletic, and most notably Dagenham & Redbridge via loan spells at Whitehawk, Hendon and Dartford.

Without time to assimilate his life altering move, the reality of swapping London for a new chapter in the North soon dawned on him.

“In lockdown, when the season ended in March, I was on loan at Dartford during the first half of the season. Then I came back to Dagenham and played up until March,” the Guyana international recalls.

“I got a call in the summer and Ian Evatt wanted me to come over to Bolton. It was probably the toughest and lowest point in my career mentally, but it’s what has made me who I am today, so I wouldn’t turn back time to change anything again.

“I think I needed that time to grow and the expectations at Bolton, a massive club in League Two, who wanted to get promoted straight away. I just probably wasn’t ready for that.

“I went into a relationship and I moved all the way up to Manchester. It was a long distance relationship which I had to balance as well. A lot of things didn’t work out how I thought they would.

“It was tough mentally but I needed that time to grow as a person, and I am thankful for it.”

Gordon was initially a starter under Evatt but returned to Dagenham & Redbridge on loan for the remainder of the 2020/21 season after dropping out of the side.

Following Bolton’s promotion to League One, Gordon would once again receive a run in the team, which included an electrifying 5-2 victory over Ipswich Town at Portman Road.

However, Gordon would find himself out of the frame for the second half of the campaign, just as Brandon Comley had earlier in the season.

The pair offered a great support for one another, and have come full circle since being reunited at Walsall in the summer of 2022.

“Me and Coms (Brandon Comley) are close. Not just because we were at Bolton together although we were very close there too,” he reveals. “We were in the team at the start and then we both came out of the team together. We kind of kept each other going.

“Coms is a bit older than me, and he’s had that league experience, but he showed me how to be a professional, even when you’re not in the squad.

“He is like a big brother to me and always has been. I’ve got a great relationship with Coms and I am delighted that he is playing the way that he is.”