‘I actually contemplated: ‘Maybe it’s time to stop playing?’ – Former AFC Wimbledon defender Paul Osew opens up on wait for club after landing Welling deal

EXCLUSIVE
BY EDMUND BRACK
edmund@slpmedia.co.uk

Just three years ago Paul Osew was a teenager and playing on a weekly basis for AFC Wimbledon in League One – but he considered quitting football this summer as a wait for a club took him into late September.

A spell without a full-time contract was something he experienced when he left Plough Lane in January 2023. He joined Northampton two months later as a free agent and featured four times as they won promotion to League One.

The attack-minded full-back was released by Northampton at the end of the 2022-23 season and joined National League side Woking six months later.

Osew was back in a familiar position after leaving Woking at the end of the last campaign as he waited for a call to find out where his next move would be.

The 23-year-old recently put pen to paper on a deal with National League South side Welling and is hoping his spell with them will propel him back up the divisions.

“It’s crazy,” Wandsworth-born Osew told the South London Press, reflecting on his football career since leaving the Dons.

“I have learned that football is a mad game which can change at any point. You need to make sure you’re saving as much as you can, because you never know what is going to happen.

“When I left Wimbledon, I went to train with Chelsea and Mark Robinson, who was U23s manager at the time.

“He had a word with Northampton boss Jon Brady. We got promoted – it was a good thing for me – but I was out without a club.

“People think football is easy. They see that you’re kicking a ball, doing what you love to do, and getting paid at the same time, but there is the physical and physiological aspect to the game.

“This is the part that people don’t see. All of this time when I’m without a club, I have to invest in myself to keep fit. I would wake up at 6am to keep the same routine and go into a park to train by myself.

“Sometimes it’s a bit discouraging. You think to yourself a lot ‘I’ve been in this situation before and you never know when a team is coming to come along’.

“It feels like you’re training for no reason.

“The wait between Wimbledon and Northampton – and since I left Woking to join Welling – I actually contemplated: ‘Maybe it’s time to stop playing?’

“It makes you understand why, when a lot of players leave clubs, they end up stopping. If you don’t have a strong mindset or someone who can keep encouraging you, it’s very easy to give up.

“I’m someone who likes to challenge himself. If you know the reason why you started it, then something will come through.”

Osew had trials with clubs and even headed to different countries in his search to land a deal.

He said: “I went out to Germany but it was difficult sorting out paperwork. I was training with Stuttgart – it was all with division one and two teams.

“Rod [Stringer, Welling boss] came for me in the summer, but at the time, I went out to Belgium. I let Rod know that there was another team. I went out to a side in the first division.

“But when I landed, they had just signed a player from Ajax and they told me it would have been difficult to sign me.

“Also, with the EU, it’s messed up everything. I came back and I told my agent to get in contact with Rod again.

“Rod told me they trained twice a week, which was a bit different for me. I was at Woking last year and they were full-time and training nearly every day.

“I have taken it upon myself to try and do a bit myself when I’m not training with the lads.”

Osew progressed through Wimbledon’s academy and made 75 first-team appearances.

He netted three goals, picked up four assists and was a regular fixture in the side during the reigns of Glyn Hodges and Mark Robinson.

But Wimbledon also suffered the first relegation of the phoenix era during Osew’s spell with the club after a group of exciting youngsters, which included Ayoub Assal and Jack Rudoni, were demoted to League Two after a run of 27 league matches without a win.

“I didn’t take it in until I left,” said Osew. “I was a young boy playing football, but when I left and went into Chelsea to keep fit, Robbo would say my stats to the lads and they would look at me as if to say: ‘Wow, 75 senior games’.’

“I was training with the U23s – there were some first-team players who came down to train with us as well – but to see the reaction made me realise playing that much wasn’t normal.

“When I got around to Woking and some of the other clubs, hearing the history of some of the other boys there, the majority they had played at a professional level was U23s football.

“I’m so grateful to Wimbledon and it will always have a special place in my heart. They trusted me and I was there for six or seven years after coming through the college programme to break into the first team.

“I had three of four managers within three of four seasons. It’s an overwhelming feeling looking back on my time there.”
Welling are still trying to find their feet at the start of the National League South campaign.

“I want to use this time to help Welling get to where we need to get to,” said Osew.

“Also, as an individual, I want to get my head down, get my fitness back up and build up some minutes.

“I’m a big believer and I know that things happen for a reason.

“This is a word for anyone who has to drop down a few levels: ‘Don’t ever disrespect this league – it’s actually better than you think’.

“Sometimes you have to drop down to go back up – it’s a learning curve.

“People shouldn’t be disappointed by dropping down.”

PICTURES: KEITH GILLARD