Inih Effiong eyes National League return with St Albans City

Inih Effiong says St Albans City’s ambition to return to the National League convinced him to complete an emotional return to Clarence Park 17 years after leaving the club.

The 35-year-old veteran striker came through the Saints’ academy and scored 15 goals during his breakthrough season as a teenager before departing for rivals Boreham Wood in 2009.

He made his return shortly after, but after a career that has taken him to 21 different clubs since then, Effiong is back with St Albans for a third spell and targeting success under Gary McCann as they look to challenge for promotion in the Isthmian Premier.

In an exclusive interview with BylineCoverage, he revealed why the club’s vision for the future, combined with the chance to play closer to home, made the move the right decision.

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Perfect

“When they initially came in, I wanted to see my options first, but then the ambitions that they had and the story behind it, that I could potentially help them get promoted back to the National League, won me over,” Effiong said.

“It’s an overall good club, run very professionally, and the people there are great.

“It’s local to home too. I’ve been used to travelling my whole career, an hour, hour and a half minimum, all the time.

“This one’s only about 25 minutes from our house, so it’s perfect. We want to do well and hopefully get a promotion push and see where it takes us.

“It’s a really good club, and the more I thought about it, the more it made sense for me and my family.”

Effiong knows the challenge ahead will be significant, but believes St Albans have the quality to push towards promotion and climb back up the pyramid.

He added: “We’ll see. I think we’re well equipped to, but there’s no giving in this league at all.

“Even though it might be Step 3, a step I haven’t been at for a while, I’m sure it’s still competitive, with other teams spending money as well.

“No leagues these days are going to be easy no matter what level you play. Hopefully we just get a good run going at the start and then see what happens.”

Future

Despite entering the latter stages of his career, Effiong insists he still has plenty to offer after overcoming a knee issue last season.

The former Aldershot Town, Braintree Town and Woking forward joined Eastleigh midway last season’s National League campaign after undergoing surgery to remove a bone fragment from his patella, helping the Spitfires avoid relegation.

Asked if he still has more seasons and goals left in him, he added: “Yeah, 100%. It’s never gone.

“Like I said, last year was a bit of a gap year because of the surgery and stuff like that, but other than that, I’m always fit, always keeping myself healthy.

“We’ll just see. I’ve still got more than a few years left. So keep it going.”

Effiong has also been building his future away from the game, with his work in football technology through IDentiSurge.

The digital access management platform, which he founded, aims to improve stadium entry processes and help clubs create safer, more efficient matchday experiences.

Fan trouble

Speaking about his work away from the pitch, Effiong said: “I’m really building in the background.

“There’s my partnership with Dagenham. We were with Salisbury last season as well.

“Also with my digital ID platform, IDentiSurge, which helps football clubs police issues they’re having with troubled fans causing trouble at football clubs.”

“We’re trying to get a chain going, so all clubs work together.

“If that person then goes to another football club and scans in, it will say that they’ve been banned from the previous club.

“So it’ll be a chain, everyone working together, which can bring the issues down.

“It also helps when adults try to buy a child ticket, because there’s no way to police that at the moment.”

Right money

On whether the Daggers can climb the pyramid under new shareholder KSI, Effiong said: “Anything’s possible in football; you just have to have the right money to do it.

“With KSI and the rest of the board, I’m sure they have the right money. They just need to recruit well, which they have done this summer.

“But to kick on up the leagues, you have to spend money on big players to get you there.

“So we’ll see how they do this season. It’s a very tough league, probably one of the toughest around at the moment.

“There’s a lot of teams challenging just for two spots to go up, and everyone thinks they’re going to get promoted.

“So it’s very competitive, 100%.”

Read the full exclusive interview with Inih Effiong at BylineCoverage

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