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I still remember my first day on trial at Exeter vividly. I pulled into the car park at the then Cat & Fiddle training ground with a big lump in my throat. I hadn't really been close to a professional set-up since being released from Brighton at 16 and, having spent the last five years playing non-league football while completing my degree, couldn’t help feeling I might be in over my head.

It took a lot for me to get out of my car and walk through the door that day. I felt like an imposter and a fraud and felt sure it was only a matter of time before I was found out and sent back to where I belonged. This feeling was heightened on my debut for the Grecians, and stayed with me for much of my first two years at the club.

After a month on trial, I signed my first professional contract two days before the first league game of the 2013-14 season. I was overwhelmed not just to achieve something I'd dreamt about for years, but by what lay ahead. I remember thinking that now the hard work starts and that if I gave it everything and took every opportunity to learn from both the coaching staff and my teammates I might be lucky enough to bag a few appearances in my first year. That mind-set was radically altered the very next day when I found out I was starting the first game of the season against Bristol Rovers!

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After a decent start we struggled for form that year, only narrowly avoiding relegation, and I found that my own form very much mirrored that of the team’s. The following season I managed to develop a bit of a 'super-sub' reputation and while there was a suspicion that my asthma was preventing me from playing 90 minutes I wouldn’t want to use that as an excuse.

Rather, I knew I had to learn to manage my energy, and in particular when to use it, more effectively. Essentially that meant being able to read the game better and having more positional awareness, especially without the ball. Fortunately, with the help of some video analysis, by my third season I was able to develop this side of my game enough to warrant a more regular starting place.

At the same time, there were some definite perks to my 'super-sub' label – chiefly, it was probably what endeared me most to the fans. It may also have helped me garner a few more appearances that year, though I always felt a sort of amused awkwardness when the clock reached 60 minutes and invariably triggered the Big Bank to will Tis to bring me on.

My personal highlight of the 2015-16 campaign was definitely coming on to score the winner in a five-goal thriller at Luton, whereas there was a certain game to forget at a town better known for rugby league!

While I was pleased to have played a role in trying to bring a spark at the end of games, by the end of that season I was determined to get a regular starting place. My third season started as well as I could've hoped. I'd finally become a regular and managed to score seven goals by November. This included arguably my best goal for City – in the televised game against Stevenage – but was upstaged by a Clinton Morrison bicycle kick! What were the chances?!

(Image: Pinnacle)

Unfortunately not long after this my season was effectively brought to an end by a tackle in training with Jordan Moore-Taylor. I should've known better! There was nothing wrong with the challenge, but the impact managed to damage my ankle in a way which meant I would eventually need surgery.

That meant playing out the rest of the season with half an ankle. In my absence the lads had an incredible night at SJP when they managed to hold Liverpool to a draw and secure a trip to Anfield. That night I experienced what it is to be a fan, and realised that I don't envy any of you – far too stressful! The season resulted in another mid-table finish with the play-offs seeming ever elusive.

My last season at the club proved to encapsulate everything good about Exeter City. It began with devastating news that I couldn’t possibly have predicted or prepared for. I had found out that after all her brave fighting my mum Sue was not going to win her battle with cancer. I can’t begin to describe the beautiful person she was and the terrible loss this was to my family and many others that she cared for in her time as a nurse.

Without football and without my team-mates and the coaches at Exeter, I don’t know how I would’ve coped. It needs to be said that despite being bottom of the league and many people calling for him to resign, Tis implored me to stay at home. I was fit to play, but in the face of all the pressure he was under and with his own family to think of, he gave me all the time I needed, demonstrating both the manager and the person he is.

There is no doubt that the positive environment that he, Steve, and the coaching team have engendered over the years is responsible not only for the multiple successes of the youth set-up, but also my own personal success, not to mention the performance of the team last season which almost culminated in a third promotion under Tis’ tenure.

(Image: Pinnacle)

It was an incredible season with an unshakeable team spirit which produced many memorable moments such as the comeback against Yeovil, and the rollercoaster of a semi-final against Carlisle. My goal at Wembley is something that I’ll always cherish. Celebrating in that stadium with all supporters of Exeter City was a magical moment, and it was a crying shame that a team of such good people, who had dealt with so many blows both personal and professional, couldn’t quite get over the line. I’ll be keeping everything crossed that my mates can go one better this year and achieve promotion.

Exeter is a fantastically weird and wonderful club, probably unlike any other. The dedicated volunteers and supporters are what gives the club its character and without them it couldn’t function or compete. I will be forever grateful for the unwavering support I received from Exeter supporters in my time at St James Park. This, coupled with the invaluable time and knowledge offered to me by Tis, Steve, and their coaches is what has made me the player I am.

I am certainly sad to leave a club that has been home to me for four years, but at the same time excited by my new challenge at such an illustrious club as QPR. I’ll sign off with a quote from TS Eliot which embodies my arrival at Exeter and why I now find myself at Loftus Road: ‘If you aren’t in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?’