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Former Hereford United winger Sam Clucas has spoken of the help given to him at the Glenn Hoddle academy
Clucas, now with Mansfield, scored four goals in their FA Cup-tie last weekend.
But as a youngster he was rejected both by Leicester and Lincoln and had lost his confidence until he moved to the academy in Southern Spain.
"Glenn was all about building your confidence and working on your
weaknesses and trying to get you back into the game," Clucas told the Independent.
"Clubs were releasing players too early in his mind, and before they'd
had a chance to fully develop.
"That was my problem:
people develop at different times and as soon as I got released [after
six years at Leicester], I grew to about 6ft in a year. That is what
Glenn was focusing on and he wanted to get hold of us, nurture us and
get the full potential out of us.
"Loads of people I know got released because they were too small and
gave up football. When I was at college, I always wanted to get back in
football but it is so hard. I was fortunate to get the break, and now
I'm in it, I relish every minute."