“The fact I’ve made it to 30 and I’m still playing football – let alone that I’m playing full-time – is probably a miracle in a lot of ways.”
That’s not hyperbole from Becky Salicki.
The defender, who has become a mainstay in Durham’s backline in recent years, was close to having to give up her career prior to her arrival at Maiden Castle.
A string of serious injuries threatened to prematurely end a promising career, before it had really sprung into life.
“There’s a few people who would have said I’d never have played again after some of the injuries I’ve had,” explained the defender.
“The injuries came at bad periods in my life, where I maybe had opportunities to play full-time football earlier.
“But that’s how football goes and I’m grateful to be doing what I am now – and long may it continue.”
Of course, we now know that Salicki navigated her way through the injuries and has cemented herself as a regular in the Barclays Women’s Championship.
But at the time, it surely would have been an option to throw the towel in.
That would be the easy way out, but for someone with the centre-back’s mindset it was never an option.
“I’d like to think that anyone who knows me knows how hard I work and that I’ll never give up,” said Salicki.
“I always have that attitude to things, and hopefully that’s a bit of credit as to why I am where I am now.
“If someone reading this is going through the same thing, I’d say never give up because you don’t know what is around the corner.
“If someone had said to me during some of those bad times that I’d be a full-time footballer at 30, I’d genuinely have laughed in their face.
“Never give up, because if you work hard then you should get the rewards you deserve.”
So now she has the reward of a full-time contract with Durham, just what does it mean?
“Everything. Never in a million years did I think I’d get the opportunity to play full-time football, and to be able to do it for the club I love has meant the world to me.
“I’d give everything for this club, regardless of the situation we were in, so to be able to commit full-time is everything I’ve ever dreamed of.”
Durham’s start to the season has yielded just one league win to date – coming in our last league game at Maiden Castle, where Blackburn Rovers were beaten 3-1.
But while results haven’t been at the level anyone would have liked, Salicki can see some real green shoots in each of the performances to date.
“It’s probably not as good as what we wanted or expected, but there’s been a lot of changes this year,” she added.
“Coaches, players, moving to full-time…it’s going to take time for us to gel.
“But we are building something and you can see glimpses of that coming through. It’ll be soon that it all starts to show.
“We know we can be better and we will be better, but it’ll take time.”
“There’s definitely been positives in most of the games,” she continued.
“We always say – we don’t get too high with highs, and we don’t get too low with the lows.
“We can see that we are building something – we can see that and believe in that – and yes it might not be exactly where we want to be, but we know it will start to show soon.”
One of the major highlights of the season so far has been the backing Durham have received at home and on the road.
And with crowd numbers swelling, Salicki believes the level of support is indicative of a club on the up.
“This is Little Old Durham – but Little Old Durham is getting bigger.
“People are starting to appreciate what this club does. It’s a brilliant setup and the North East is lucky to have a setup like this, alongside some other brilliant clubs.
“The fans have always meant so much to us and we know have a great group at home and away.
“They’re there with us through thick and thin, we hear them every weekend, and they mean the world to us.”
