SOLLY MARCH has learnt just how ruthless football can be over these past few months.
After 13 years at being “protected” from the game’s cut-throat nature, the winger was let go by the only professional club he has ever played for in the summer.
It has been a disorienting period which has left him having to go the extra mile to prove to prospective new clubs he is fit enough and still good enough to cut it at the top level.
That in itself has been challenging, given his struggles with a knee injury over the last three seasons.
Even when undertaking a rigorous medical at a club this summer – which was successful – no contract was forthcoming.
At 32, and with 194 games in the Premier League goals already under his belt, some might be inclined to quit following his injury setbacks.
But insisted: “Giving up hasn’t been on my mind. I’m quite a determined, stubborn person.
“I just want to prove to myself and to other people that I can get back to where I know I can.
“I’ve never been in this situation, I’ve always been at Brighton, I’ve never had less than two years left on my contract.
“I’ve been tucked away and protected from it all, in a sense. Ninety per cent of footballers probably go through this every year.
“You just see how ruthless it is and people who are involved in it, they’re all in it for themselves, I guess.”
Born in Eastbourne, March was picked up by Brighton in 2011 having been spotted playing for nearby part-timers Lewes as a teenager.
He looked close to an England call-up in 2023 when he was flying under , before his injury problems began.
He made just 24 appearances in the last three seasons, but even so, March was under the impression that a new deal with Albion was in the offing at the back end of last season following talks with boss .
Opening up exclusively to SunSport, March said: “From the conversations I had, it sounded positive that there would be some sort of solution for me to be here for what would have been next season and this season.
“I can recall a family BBQ, and even my wife having this conversation with the manager that, yeah, it looks positive, I think next season hopefully still here, I’ve had the conversation, I think everything looks good.
“Even going into the last week of the season, I had a conversation with the technical director where I said, ‘Look, I need a decision, I need to know where I am next season, I need to know where I’m playing my football, I want to know. I don’t want to know last minute’.
“They said, ‘We’re not going to exercise your contract extension because your money will go up and you haven’t played enough games, we don’t think, to earn that’. I was fine with that.
“But he said we don’t not want you here next year so things might have to look a little bit different. We’ll have to have a meeting and talk about how a contract could look.
“I was fine with that because I just wanted to be at the club, I wanted to prove myself again and prove that I’m fit and that I can still produce at the top level.”
March then played in the final game of the season against Manchester United, where he was presented with a shirt to mark his 300th appearance for the club, before heading off on holiday.
The winger continued: “On Monday morning the day after the final game of the season, at 9 o’clock, they rang my agent and said, ‘No that’s it, you’re done. Your time is finished at the club. We’re sorry, that’s it, but that’s how it’s going to be’.
“It wasn’t the decision itself that hurt, because that’s fine, that’s football.
“I didn’t agree with it, I still think I could have made an impact this season.
“But it was the way it was done which probably hurt the most. It still hurts now, to be honest.”
March is at a loss to explain why there was an apparent change of heart from Brighton, but wishes they had told him earlier so he could play some reserve games to aid his cause in finding a new club.
He added: “I want to say I had many great years at Brighton and many great memories.
“The fans have always been amazing with me and still are. The club hierarchy are great people and I wish them all the success this season.
“I don’t think they meant to lead me on for two months. I don’t think they were straight up lying to me or leading me on. I don’t think that was the case.
“But it’s strange they maybe weren’t honest a bit earlier.
“It would have given me a chance to maybe play games for the Under-21s to get some minutes to show other clubs that I am fit.
“I don’t think it’s helped my situation very much, the way it was dealt with, because I’ve not been able to play many minutes.”
March’s knee injury first flared up in 2023, requiring surgery, but on reflection the winger feels he may have come back too early.
Another op, which took place in Germany, was later required but now March feels he is fully over his crock problems.
He has been keeping himself fit in Dubai and in Doha, and confessed to becoming a “geek” by investing in a GPS vest to record his data, to prove his fitness to interested clubs.
March passed a thorough medical at one Premier League club earlier this summer but the team ended up not offering a deal as they failed to offload other players and there was not enough room for him in the squad.
It means the South-Coast lad is still on the lookout for a new home – and would be open to opportunities abroad.
March is currently training with a Championship club to maintain his fitness, with his physical testing and training output understood to be hitting top Premier League physical metrics.
His recently-recorded top speed of 35.4kmh is very close to matching his all-time high.
He added: “Clubs trusting my body and trusting that I can produce week in and week out with training and playing, that’s been the one challenge with most of the people I spoke to.
“They’ve all said the same thing, that it’s not a question of quality, it’s just a question of your body and how much you can take.
“I think I’m in a good position, I really am. My knee is happy and strong, there’s no swelling. I can do all the things that I need to do and very well.
“I had a medical at a Premier League club and it was all good but for various reasons nothing happened from it.
“But the medical was all good. To see that was a positive for me, that my body is passing these things.
“I still believe I can play in the Premier League, I really do. I had a conversation with a player at Brighton a few weeks and was asking him about a manager from a club abroad that was interested because he’s from that country.
“He said to me on the phone, ‘Solly, you could still play for us, you really could. I’m surprised you’re still not here.’
“It’s a good thing but it’s also a bit frustrating at the same time.
“I’m open to stuff abroad, for sure. I just need to play for a few months and show people I am fit and can still play. Hopefully that option will come soon.”
