‘I lost confidence’ – Ben Thompson opens up on his Millwall exit
Ben Thompson has opened up about how the lack of game time in his final season with Millwall dented his self belief.
The 26-year-old midfielder had his Lions contract cancelled by mutual consent at the end of January and signed a short-term deal with Gillingham.
The Kent club’s relegation to League Two damaged their prospects of keeping Thompson, a lifelong Millwall fan, and he was unveiled as a Peterborough player on Tuesday.
Thompson played just 44 minutes of Championship football in the 2021-22 campaign before he hooked back up with Gills boss Neil Harris, a father figure during his time in SE16.
“At the start of last season I knew I wasn’t really going to play that much and I wasn’t really in the plans,” Thompson, who has signed up for at least two years with Posh, told the South London Press. “Ultimately I was the one who asked to leave then but nothing got done or materialised in that window.
“In January it was about getting out and playing games again because I played a handful, if that, of games. Getting out was best for me and for the club.
“Working with Chopper was fantastic. He is a fantastic manager and a fantastic human being. I got my love back for football there. I know the final outcome wasn’t great, but I got my confidence back and got my game time up as well.
“At the end of the previous summer transfer window I just had to sit there knowing I wasn’t really going to play but I had to keep training and be ready for the next window. When it gets to three o’clock on a Saturday you’re not getting the buzz you normally get when you’re involved in a matchday. That took its toll on me a bit.
“The end of the season before I think I was having a bit of a tough time, to be honest, on and off the pitch. Then it didn’t start off well the next season – it was a spiral from that.
“Everyone knows it is my boyhood club and the club I love. Maybe I was trying too hard, carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders every time I was sent on the pitch. That didn’t help.
“Yeah, there was a lack of confidence as well. It was a mixture of quite a few things. Ultimately the club didn’t want me anymore and I couldn’t be there, because I wanted to play.”
PICTURE: PETERBOROUGH UNITED FC
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