Ryan Trevitt: A Perseverance Story | OneFootball

Few would have blamed Ryan Trevitt if he had called time on his professional career before it had even begun.

The midfielder took an unconventional route into the professional game, plying his trade at grassroots level with Leatherhead Youth throughout much of his development.

He signed for Brentford B in January 2021 aged 17 in what was both the start of his journey with the Bees, and the end of a period of false dawns with other west London clubs.

Almost four years on, his perseverance and work rate - alongside his undoubted talent - has seen him awarded with minutes in this season’s Carabao Cup run, as well as earning him his Premier League debut against Tottenham Hotspur in August.

“I had trials when I was younger at Chelsea, but I can’t really remember too much about that,” Trevitt begins.

“When I was 15, I was at Fulham and got to the year below a scholarship and they said I had to be in the top two players to get signed, so maybe it was a bad time to go on trial. I accepted that one pretty quickly.

“At QPR, I was 16 playing with the under-18s and did really well. I got asked questions about whether I’d need digs [accommodation] and other different things I’d need. So, I thought, ‘I’m getting signed here’.

“I then went in for a meeting with my dad all happy thinking that this is it, and it’s going to happen for me finally. They [then] told me that I wasn’t going to get signed. That was very difficult. I got in the car and broke down to be honest.”

Having been turned down by three separate clubs, most teenagers would have surmised that they were not destined for a career in football.

“Looking back on it, you would’ve thought that I would think that,” Trevitt quickly refutes. “I never actually thought that.

“I definitely had a lot of self-belief. Within a day or two, I was back training with my coach.

“I was at Leatherhead Youth but it was mainly my coach Andy Maciel I was sticking with. My dad was always the manager as well so that was nice.”

As the conversation continues, it becomes abundantly clear just how important his former coach and personal mentor was and continues to be.

Under the guidance of Maciel - who Trevitt was with at Leatherhead from the age of 10, also taking him on tours to Denmark, Belgium and Spain - he flourished.

The good times included winning the Futsal National Cup twice and enjoying a three-year unbeaten spell at Leatherhead, but Maciel’s influence was perhaps most pivotal when it came to that aforementioned QPR rejection.

“He went through quite a few very disappointing times,” Maciel agrees. “He’s a very strong character and always has been.

“He went in at QPR and was told they were signing him but then they told him they’d made a mistake.

“His dad phoned me and said, ‘Andy, I’ve never seen Ryan cry since he was a baby. He’s in the back of the car and beside himself’.

“I said, ‘don’t worry, it’s just another hurdle we’ve got to climb’. I was still at Leatherhead at the time and I got him to meet me at the club. I told him to keep himself focused and to keep believing in himself.

“I think he got quite disillusioned with football. I said to him, ‘just stick with it because I really think you’ve got a good chance of progressing'.

“I’ve tried to keep him focused, especially when the chips are down which is the hardest part. If they’re not resilient and strong enough to cope with that, then it doesn’t matter how talented they are, they’re not going to make it. Luckily, he got the chance at Brentford.”

Trevitt got back to work and the next opportunity within a professional academy setting was the one that changed everything.

Following an extended trial with the Bees, his persistence finally paid off.

“I was on trial for quite a while, maybe three or four months, I did well and signed,” the now 21-year-old continues.

“I always felt that when I got my foot in the door somewhere, I’d do well after that. I think I’ve shown that.

“Obviously, I was very happy, but it was also a bit of relief as well because I’d had trials before that, I thought I’d done well and get signed, but then I didn’t.

“When I got told I was getting signed, it was a bit surreal because I’d had that experience so many times when it had gone the other way. It was a proud moment for me and my family but, within a day, you’re then thinking about what’s next.”

And what’s next was a period of consolidating and impressing in the B team.

Just over 18 months later, he made his professional debut in a 2-0 Carabao Cup win over Colchester United, early in a 2022/23 season that proved to be pivotal.

“I wouldn’t say it was my breakthrough season, but I think it was one where I proved myself,” Trevitt reflects.

That year, his 27 goal contributions (16 goals, 11 assists) saw him pick up the Mary Halder Award, which recognises a campaign of progression, fantastic attitude (more on that trait later) and professionalism whilst adhering to the values that the club holds close.

One of those 16 goals came in a 2-1 Premier League Cup final win over Blackburn Rovers, with Exeter City boss Gary Caldwell watching on from the stands at Gtech Community Stadium.

A new three-year contract, with a club option for an additional year, followed, with the midfielder also joining the Grecians on loan for their 2023/24 League One campaign.

“Being a young player, I think it was perfect for me,” says Trevitt, who has rejoined Exeter on loan for the remainder of the 2024/25 campaign.

“I took so much from my loan. Although it was only five or six months rather than the whole season, I think I got everything that I needed.

“I owe a lot to Gary Caldwell as well. He’s a great manager and I warmed to him really quickly.

“Neil [MacFarlane] does a lot to make the games feel like ‘proper’ games in the B team, but obviously when you go to a league it’s a little bit different.

“I was so ready to go on loan and play games that I didn’t really see it as daunting. The manager then installed a lot of belief in me, so I was straight in and did well.”

Playing senior professional football for the first time, Trevitt excelled at St James Park.

He provided five goals (including an eye-catching brace against Championship side Middlesbrough in the Carabao Cup) and an assist in 23 games for the Grecians.

As he alludes to, though, another setback followed, with a freak ankle injury at Cambridge prematurely ending an influential loan spell just before Christmas 2023.

“A cross came in, I’ve gone in for it and the keeper came out, it was a collision and my ankle twisted,” Trevitt explains.

“It was just an unlucky and frustrating one, because being out there and playing is the main thing but when you’re injured, you can’t even compete at all.

“When it swelled up quickly, I knew it would be bad. There was a lot of anxiety before the scan results, then when I got it back, I knew it wasn’t going to be good. I knew that it’d be my time at Exeter done, so I just had to focus on getting back fit.

“I think I’ve had quite a lot of setbacks before. When I got injured, I just knew I had to reset and go again, so it definitely links to what has happened before and it definitely helped.

“I think I stayed pretty positive when I was injured about getting back and then making an impact.

“I spoke to Christian Nørgaard because he had a similar ankle injury. You can sometimes go for the surgery or not go for it.

“He’d had the surgery I was going to have and said he was happy that he did it. I knew that I was going to do it after that.

“It made me feel at ease because I’d never had surgery before. Once I spoke to him, I knew it was the right thing to do. To be fair, I wouldn’t even know I had surgery [now] because it feels perfect.”

Overcoming those unsuccessful trials and his own self-belief have contributed to Trevitt’s resolve.

Growing up in another sport and, as he is keen to highlight himself, his support network, are clearly other key factors in getting him to where he is now.

“I played rugby up until U18s,” Trevitt continued. “I was a fly-half, so [it was] probably similar to the way I play football; trying to get on the ball and make things happen.

“I was with Harlequins for a couple of years. That’s definitely helped me a lot mentally with the toughness, different skills and coordination – and I really enjoyed it as well.

“Eventually, I couldn’t really play rugby anymore because I had to pick football – that was definitely the right decision!

“I’ve got good support around me. My parents are very supportive and have driven me to pretty much every game I’ve ever played. For every football or rugby game I’ve ever played, they’ve been at the sidelines watching. My dad was the manager of my team from eight years old to 16 or 17 anyway, so I owe a lot to them.

“My coach, Andy, has kept belief in me throughout the whole time. He said that once I got in somewhere, I’d do well. I’ve stuck to that and it’s worked out. I think I’m very lucky to have them.”

One thing that is abundantly clear is that Trevitt had the right people around him to excel, whether that be in football, rugby, or outside of sport.

Maciel stresses, though, that his former captain made the most of any opportunities and didn’t take anything for granted.

“He’s lucky in a sense that he’s got wonderful parents,” he adds.

“He’s lucky but he’s also so appreciative of it and grateful for everything. He’s just a wonderful character. He went to St John’s, a fantastic school with very supportive people there. The whole package there was right, but he didn’t waste any opportunity and didn’t abuse any opportunity.

“He always gave an extra 10 or 15 per cent. I’ve seen him play through pain where we’re wanting to drag him off the pitch. We’ve known that he’s hurt but he’s made sure he’s stayed out there for the boys.

“You can’t really put that in, those traits and parts of your character. I credit his mum and dad for that. They’re absolutely amazing people, really lovely people. All of those kind of things start at home.

“As a coach, you can’t improve a player. You can put that information in front of them, but that person has to go and embrace it and take it on board, and maybe do the extra stuff.

“When it was Covid, I did plans for Ryan and all of his team-mates. For two or three days, the rest did it and then stopped. Ryan did it and then was texting me asking for more. It got to the point where I had to tell him to rest and recover.

“That resolve to go and do that has definitely had a massive impact on him making it.”

A chance meeting between two of Trevitt’s former coaches, given he had since moved into the first-team set-up at Brentford, showed that he has brought that same hard-working mindset to Jersey Road.

“There was one day where I was at the club with Ryan’s mum and dad,” Maciel continues. “We were walking around the stadium and Neil [MacFarlane] was walking round.

“I said hello and introduced his mum and dad. He said, ‘What a dream your boy is to coach and it’s a credit to you guys.’”

Trevitt went from lining up alongside now England international loosehead prop Fin Baxter – “I was actually looking at a football photo from my primary school earlier, and he was massive!” the midfielder adds – to making his Premier League debut back in August on one of the biggest stages this country has to offer.

With three minutes remaining, he received the call from Thomas Frank and replaced Fábio Carvalho late on at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in front of 61,246 fans.

“It’s a big stadium with a lot of fans but when you’re on the pitch, I don’t think that goes through anyone’s mind at all,” Trevitt recalls. “When the game finishes, you take it in and look around a bit more and think, ‘yeah that was cool!’

“I wasn’t expecting to come on but I’m always ready. When I got called over and told I was going on, I was just buzzing to get on the pitch and I knew I didn’t have too long, so I wanted to get on the ball and make something happen if I could.

“I think I got on the ball a few times and did well in the short period I had. As a kid, you look at the Premier League and that’s where you want to be.

“It was definitely a dream come true but once that happens, you don’t think about it too much, you then want to just make an impact. Reflecting on it, it’s definitely a big thing for me and my family.

“I actually had one of my best mates there because he’s a season ticket holder at Spurs. He was definitely supporting me, although the score was 3-1 to them so he was probably quite happy!”

Someone else who was delighted, albeit for slightly different reasons, was Andy Maciel, who is now the director of a football programme for a school in Epsom and also offers private coaching and mentoring sessions.

“It’s incredible,” says Maciel. “I still get goosebumps, even though he’s made his debut now. It is a real buzz. I’m smiling my head off just talking about him. It’s hard to describe the emotional side of it.

“At the school and in my private sessions, I think the kids and the parents get sick of me mentioning his name, but I only mention him because he’s such an inspiration.”

From a youth coaching standpoint, seeing a player pen their first professional contract could be seen as the end of a journey.

But given what we’d learnt about Trevitt’s character, it seemed only fitting to end our interview by looking forwards.

“I definitely believe in myself and believe I can make an impact,” Trevitt affirms. “When I was on trial, I knew I had to impress every day and to be honest, I still see it like I’m on trial now really. That’s how I try and look at it, like I’m on trial every day.

“You’ve got to impress and nothing changes from when you’re on trial to when you sign. That’s definitely the mindset; to impress every day as if it’s my first day.

“There are always things to work on which is what everyone is constantly doing. It’s also about being patient and nailing it every day, being at it 100 per cent.

“I’ll just keep training well and getting as much from that as I can, and hopefully get some opportunities. Once that opportunity comes, you just have to grab it.”