Former Bromley wing-back Liam Vincent is looking forward to returning to South London, having become Steve Morison’s second signing of the summer already after joining from National League side Tonbridge Angels.
The 22-year old, who began his career with the Ravens, is no stranger to the area, having originally arrived at Hayes Lane as a young teenager and going on to remain at the club until he was 18, when he earned a move to the Football League.
“It feels great”, Vincent told SUFCtv after making the switch from the Longmead Stadium, “I’m delighted to get it over the line and I can’t wait for the season to start.”
“I’m really excited [to return to the top tier of non-league football]. I was at Tonbridge last year in the league below, I felt like I’ve done well there and earned my stripes and now I’m looking forward to being back in the league above.”
The wing-back has credited Andy Robertson and Ben Chilwell as players he enjoys watching and models his game off, with Vincent establishing himself as an extremely well-rounded player.
“I’m energetic, athletic, aggressive, want to be on the front foot, want to press and want to win the ball back as much as possible but still be comfortable on the ball.”
Having broke through the ranks at Bromley, Vincent earned a move to Portsmouth at the age of 18 where he gained experience training alongside Football League veterans, before finding himself out on loan where he was tasked with recovering from a serious injury.
“I think you learn loads” Vincent said, “you’re around experienced pros that have got hundreds of games in the Football League. You pick up little bits every day. I learned a lot and I think it’s moulded me into who I am now.”
“I had just got my move to Portsmouth and within two days my season was done. I spent probably 1o to 12 months on the sidelines which was really obviously really difficult but I think that builds you into who you are and definitely builds up character and now I’d say I’m pretty much ready to face anything.”
Vincent has evidently come out the other side though, and gained crucial experience back in non-league with a host of clubs on loan, including notably scoring a hat-trick for Hampton & Richmond Borough as well as playing under current York City boss Adam Hinshelwood at Worthing, while he has since become something of a goalscoring wing-back with nine goals last term at Tonbridge.
“I always want to try and help the team whether it’s defensively, going forward; I always want to go forward and play on the front foot and look to make things happen in the final third.”
“Being on the front foot and looking for little things to happen; kind of predicting where the ball might go. Last season was definitely really good for me, I was able to get a decent amount of goals from wing-back and hopefully I can look to do the same thing here.”
“I learned quite a lot from Hinshelwood to be fair. He was a very detailed coach, always demands standards, wanted the best for everyone and ultimately was a winner.”
“I definitely expect the same now under Steve Morison and is one of the reasons I’ve come here. I watched the club last year, I see the ambition here, I know the club didn’t get play-offs but you can see that that’s there ad hopefully this season we can really kick on and look to do that.”
“On a personal note I want to play more games, score goals, get assists and get the club as high as possible in the league and ultimately get promoted.”
“I can’t wait to meet the supporters and I can’t wait for the season to start.”
You can watch Vincent’s first interview as a Sutton player here.
