In this edition of The Secret Footballer, a player from a Premier Soccer League club shares his stressful situation at his current club.
The talented striker is in the final three months of his two-year contract, and so far, things are not looking good.
"I joined this club for the 2023/24 season, highly recommended after scoring goals at my previous club," The Secret Footballer tells KickOff.
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"I can proudly say I was one of my new club's top signings. However, I was accused of being the chairman's favorite by the coach who had just been fired. He did not like me at all; to him, I was simply the chairman's player.
"I only started getting game time after he was let go. I performed well, scoring goals and providing assists last season.
"At the end of that season, I managed to stay on; I was not released. What saved me was the fact that I was still new to the league and the club.
"While I was celebrating my survival, I received a call from my business manager. He informed me that the club wanted to impose a salary cut due to my not-so-impressive record from the past season.
"I agreed to the cut—not because I understood, but because I was afraid of going back to amateur football. I couldn't let my family down or deal with what the neighbors might say about my failure.
"This season has been even worse for me, not because I don't train hard or perform well, but because I am being denied fair game time.
"I don't know how I'm going to save my job if I'm not given the opportunity to play. No matter how well I perform when given a chance, as a striker, I am judged solely on goals. I believe things could be different if I were a midfielder due to the way I create opportunities for my teammates.
"I keep praying every day. There are less than 10 games left, and I'm not a regular starter. I'm scared this might finally be it."