Mike Fondop: “It Was Amazing, A Great Time To Remember”

Simon Bullock recently spoke to former Lions striker Mike Fondop about that winning penalty at Accrington Stanley in the Emirates FA Cup and much more.

Simon also asked Fondop about his time with the club and where his career has taken him since.

This article first appeared in The Lions matchday programme, you can buy digital copies online here.

After working your way up through non-league, how did your move to Guiseley come about?

I was leaving Oxford City and wanted to play in a higher division, like the National League. My agent knew Paul Cox and he organized a trial game for me. I scored two goals and after that the manager said I did well but didn’t want to sign me straight away. I told my agent with the way that I played, I’m not going to go back on trial, they either sign me or don’t. Eventually, I signed and from there I scored in my first game against Macclesfield Town, so it was a good start.

How did you find settling into such a large squad in what was a difficult season for the club?

For me it was good because when I came in, I didn’t know the number of players that were contracted to the club, so I was only focusing on myself without sounding selfish and the fact that the manager had just signed me, I knew he would give me chances to prove myself in the team.

I knew I was coming to play, and my agent had told me beforehand that the club wanted to switch from part-time to full-time. That was perfect for me because I had just finished university and wanted to be in a professional environment.

I felt sorry for some of the lads because they had to try to find a balance between football and work, but for me it was ideal. Secondly, it was good because I met the likes of John Rooney, Jake Lawlor and Kayode Odejayi, so it was a healthy squad in terms of individuals as well.

For you personally, you scored on your debut, then a month later scored the winning penalty against Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup first round replay, were they your personal highlights in a Guiseley shirt? You even had your name on the FA Cup Final ball!

I was buzzing because as someone who lived in Cameroon, I didn’t know that you could get your name on the match ball that would be used in the final played with by Premier League players. That was unreal, and I was very excited about that.

Beating Accrington on penalties was a great highlight for me, my career, and my family. I must really thank God for that because we managed to make history with the club because it was the furthest, we’d ever reached in the competition.

Paul Cox was very happy with me that night, with the way I held my own against some very good defenders and when I scored that winning penalty, I was so happy. That’s why I took my shirt off. It was amazing, a great time to remember.

How would you look back on your time at Guiseley?

It was a learning curve because Guiseley was the first club where I had a professional contract. At the time, the club was semi-professional, but my contract was a professional one, so I was getting into habits of a pro, like training everyday whilst also having games on the weekend and sometimes on Tuesdays. It was also good to play against teams in the National League that had dropped down from League Two, because coming up against professional teams and players was a good way to compare myself to what I aspired to be and beyond.

After leaving Guiseley, you did well at Halifax Town, Wrexham, Chesterfield and Burton Albion, particularly at the start of your time with these clubs. Is there a secret behind these fast starts?

Every club I’ve been to I’ve always hit the ground running when it comes to goals and I haven’t got an answer to that, only God’s grace. Every time I go to a new team, I have a mentality that comes from someone who is like a mentor to me, who often told me: “a striker is one who scores. If you don’t score goal, then are you a striker?” That was good pressure he put on me, which I think about before every training session and game.

I try to always watch videos of players that have a similar style to me, like Robert Lewandowski and Romelu Lukaku. I used to believe I could play like Lionel Messi, I’m not going to lie, playing on the right, and cutting inside onto my left foot! Eventually I realised my body type wasn’t like Messi, so I started watching players that play more like me, looking at their movement and what they do in the box. I started to put myself in those positions and listen to the advice from my managers, like if 90% of goals are being scored inside the 18-yard-box, work your socks off and just make sure you’re in there.

Last season you joined Burton and, as a striker, what was it like to be coached by Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink?

It was great because Burton was my first club in League One and to make the jump from the National League to that level, it can’t be explained by human power, only God. I remember the first time I saw Jimmy; I was so excited, but you can’t let it show because you must be professional. I went into his office and said to him that I knew we were in a bad position, but I genuinely believed we could make it out of the relegation zone, and we did.

As a coach, Jimmy pays attention to the smallest details, because I’ve been with managers when in training, you can lose the ball or not make a run and the manager wouldn’t say anything and you would just keep going with the training session, but with Jimmy, you can’t get away with the little things. Anything that can be improved, he will talk to you and help you work on it. Every small detail is counted for it, and the proof of that was on the training ground and in the results. We’d have a video session where he’d highlight the things required of the team, even if you’d played a good game, he would find something you could improve on and get better at, that’s what Jimmy was like.

Looking back, how do you reflect on your journey in English football so far and what do you still hope to achieve in the game?

I have the belief that I can still get to the Premier League. The sky’s the limit and if God doesn’t make me get there, so long as I get close to it, I’ll be happy. I always want to be the top scorer in a division for my team and I still hope I will have a season where that happens, but I’ve had some great memories. Some things have not gone exactly as planned, but there’s a passage in the Bible that says, “man has his plans, but God has the last word.”

What is the last word? I’m still on that path, believing and working hard. Some will be thinking about retirement but I’m not at that point yet. I’ve still got a lot to offer and there are many teams that need my attributes.

I wasn’t really a social media guy when I came to the UK, but after my times in all the clubs I’ve played for, many people have said on Instagram that I was an inspiration to them at some point, so I’ll keep on working hard, doing my things and inspiring those that look up to me, to let them know that everything is possible for he who believes. No one has seen the invisible work I’ve been putting in; no one sees me working out when we are not training, and eventually I know it is all going to pay off.

 

Since the interview took place Mike has signed for Oldham Athletic and struck a brace in his second appearance at Newport County. We’d like to thank Mike for taking the time out and wish him the best of luck for his future career.

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