Former Maidstone United captain Blair Turgott wishes his old club well in National League relegation fight and says they played a massive part in his career
05:00, 24 December 2022
updated: 08:46, 24 December 2022
Ex-captain Blair Turgott is in Maidstone’s corner as they fight for National League survival.
Turgott, who’s just won the top-flight title in Sweden with BK Hacken, keeps a close eye on his old club.
They’re just outside the bottom four at the halfway point of the season, winning two of their past 18 league games.
Winger Turgott was relegated from the National League with Maidstone in 2019 before moving to Sweden, initially with Ostersunds, where he also suffered the drop.
He’s experienced the highs and lows of football and is hoping Hakan Hayrettin’s side can turn their form around.
Turgott said: “I’ve seen winning sides where you can score a last-minute goal and you’re on cloud nine and I’ve been in dressing rooms where you work so hard all week and you just can’t get that win.
“You just have to keep pushing on and you have to realise that no one really owes you anything.
“As long as you can look in the mirror and say you’ve given everything you can, then hopefully the person next to you is doing the same thing.
“I have a soft spot for Maidstone. After my games I look to see how they’re doing.
“They’re near the bottom of the league but all you need is a few wins and a few good performances and the whole thing can change.
"Nothing is ever over in football and that’s a blessing.
“Sometimes you think you’re getting no luck but three points and the mood goes up and the morale goes up, and I know how great the fans are as well.
“Everyone just needs a lift and hopefully that comes for them. I’m sure it will.
"Sometimes in football you just don’t get the rub of the green. You do everything you can and it just doesn’t fall in place.
"At the same time, when it does fall in place it’s the best feeling in the world.
"I’m fully behind them and I’m hoping they can turn it around because they’ve got some really good players and amazing fans."
Turgott spent a year-and-a-half with Maidstone, initially joining on loan from Boreham Wood under Jay Saunders.
The deal was soon made permanent and the former West Ham youngster took the 2018/19 season by storm.
He scored arguably the best goal ever seen at the Gallagher Stadium, a brilliant length-of-the-field solo effort in an FA Cup victory over Leyton Orient.
A knee injury robbed Maidstone of his services for a chunk of the season but he fully deserved his move to Sweden.
"Maidstone's played such a massive part in my career," said Turgott.
"The whole non-league journey, it humbles you and at the same time it makes you work extra hard because, ultimately, if you’ve got ambitions to be playing at higher levels, you don’t want to be playing in non-league.
"You have to make sure you do everything you can to get out of there.
"Many players, no matter how talented they are, it’s difficult for them.
"You’ve got to come with the right mentality and you’ve got to have the right club around you and the right people who really want to push you on and help you get to that level.
"When I signed, Jay Saunders and Bill Williams, they were amazing for me.
"At the time in my career when I went there, I almost needed to press the reset button, strip everything back and get back to basics.
"That’s what non-league gave me and it gave me a sense of getting the love back for the game.
"Some of my best goals have been at Maidstone. To this day, I think every week I get a Maidstone fan sending me a video of the Leyton Orient goal.
"Those moments, you never forget. I’ll never forget the Maidstone journey. It was amazing.
"I’ve got nothing but good things to say about them.
"I look at some of the videos now and I see the same fans in the stands. It gives me goosebumps. They’re still sticking with the team and pushing the community on."
