Miles Welch-Hayes

A boyhood Leeds United supporter, Miles Welch-Hayes has wasted no time in settling in at his first Yorkshire club, Harrogate Town.

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When a move to Harrogate came to fruition it gave Miles the chance to move in with his Grandma in Huddersfield, where his Dad had grown up. Miles himself grew up in Wolvercoat, a small village in Oxford with his parents, brother and two sisters and has his family to thank for where he is today.

“My mum and dad used to take me to football a lot, my mum would take me to training straight after finishing work and my dad would take me to games that were really far away.

“It was a big commitment because I don’t come from a family that has a lot of money so for them to be driving me around it was tough to be able to even find the money to keep taking me.

“Without them I don’t even know where I would be because some families might not be able to take their kids places and if they didn’t take me to training all the time maybe I wouldn’t be in this position I am now, so I am very grateful to my family.

“My brother used to play football when he was younger and I used to watch his games, that’s what got me into football really.

“As a kid used to love football, played out on the football court every day, used to play with the older boys quite a bit, then joined a Sunday league team Marston Saints.

“It’s good to spend more time with my family now, I used to see my Grandma only once every three years, but since signing for Harrogate I’ve probably spent the most time with her I ever have in my life, which is really good.”

WELCH-HAYES

WELCH-HAYES

Miles remains close with his family in Oxford and in particular his 11-year-old sister whose interest in the game has been heightened by the recent Lionesses’ Euros win.

“She’s in the school team now and I was speaking to her about the Euros and I think it makes young girls want to play football more and gives them inspiration they can go on to achieve big things.”

That family effort and commitment paid off when Miles earned a first professional contract at Oxford and made his first team debut on 17th August 2016 away at Fleetwood.

“I signed for Oxford at U13 level and worked my way up from there really. Signing my first contract was a great moment, but I never thought I had made it, you’re still young and I only signed a short deal so doesn’t mean you are solid at a club, you’ve still got to work your way up, but it was a big moment, it’s your dream as a kid to sign a pro contract.

“Not long after that came my debut, from what I can remember I was nervous but wasn’t really, really nervous, I said to myself it’s my debut so just go out and enjoy it. It was a great experience to be out on the pitch in front of fans for the first time.”

A quick reminder of the highs and lows of football was just around the corner, with a swift departure from Oxford and professional football paving the way for a move to National League South Bath.

“I just wanted to go and play more games so, I spoke to Michael Appleton who was Manager at the time and he said he couldn’t afford to have me at the club and they needed to build with senior players.

BATH WAS A SMALL CLUB BUT THE FANS WERE REALLY GOOD AND I ENJOYED MY TIME THERE, THOUGH THE AIM WAS ALWAYS TO GO BACK INTO THE LEAGUE.

“I couldn’t really do anything about that, I knew I needed to go and play games so wasn’t too disheartened, more excited to see what was out there. I had been on loan at Bath already so the Manager Gary Owers spoke to me and said if you want to come here at the end of the season then let me know.

“I felt it was a good decision for me to go somewhere and play and ended up getting in the National League South Team of the Season.

“When dropping down to part time football I said to myself give it a season, I didn’t want to get another job just yet so any days off I had I trained and went to the gym, and it paid off.

“Bath was a small club but the fans were really good and I enjoyed my time there, though the aim was always to go back into the league.”

That move back to the EFL would materialise when Miles secured a move to financially troubled Macclesfield, which proved a difficult but rewarding time in the young defender’s career.

“I enjoyed living up North, I knew I would have to move away at some point so I was ready for it.

“The ongoing money situation made it difficult, out of the two years I was there I got paid late eight or nine times.

“It was a tough time there, we were in a relegation battle and weren’t getting paid, it was a bit of a shambles really, the morale in the club was really low, everyone was down.

“Looking back I feel like the tough times were a good experience for me though. Having gone through that has made me stronger and I feel like it could have happened for a reason.

“It was tough on the pitch too because we weren’t really doing that well and got caught up in a relegation battle. When Sol Campbell came in that really helped me, having a world class defender like that helped me improve, he was hands-on on the training ground and I learnt a lot from him on a personal level.”

With the club’s situation worsening, Welch-Hayes was left in a tough situation; Colchester had seen their initial bid for the player turned down and Macclesfield were reluctant to let their defender go, despite their off-pitch turmoil.

The stressful dispute was eventually settled in a courtroom, with Miles allowed to terminate his contract and join the U’s, securing his immediate future in League Two.

“The first season I played a lot of games and really enjoyed my time, but the second season was quite tough, I had a lot of injuries and, as a player that doesn’t really get injured, I didn’t really know what was causing it.I pulled my hamstring but came back too early and pulled it again so, then a month later I kicked a ball, not even that hard, and pulled my quad so I was out for a couple of months. That was really frustrating, it’s not nice being out and you just want to be with the boys helping the team .

“At the end of year two my contract was coming to an end, there had been talks of a potential loan move to Harrogate before, so when my agent spoke with the Gaffer and I realised he wanted to bring me in I was happy to make the move.”

Now approaching his tenth appearance at Town, Welch-Hayes is convinced that The EnviroVent Stadium is the right place to take his career to the next level.

“The aim is to just work my way up really, we’re in League Two at the minute, but the aim is to play as high as I can really and see what I can achieve.

“Everyone here shares that ambition, no one wants to be comfy and just settle, the aim is to keep pushing on, that comes from the Manager who is constantly pushing us forward.

“I think we’ve got a good group and a lot of quality in here, off the pitch I think we’ve got a really tight group and everyone’s got really good attitudes, which will definitely help us through the hard times.

“A team that sticks together through thick and thin is so important in League Two where anyone can beat anyone. The league can be unpredictable, but if you’ve got a tight group that help each other and stick together that’s so important. In any league when teams go through tough times if you’ve got a tough group of boys that can stick together then we can go on to do good things.”

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