Jonathan Margetts says trying to help King’s Lynn back to the National League next season would be his proudest achievement in football.
The 30-year-old striker thought his days as a full-time footballer were over until the Linnets came calling back in January.
After dropping out of the professional game, the forward balanced playing with working as a physiotherapist at Doncaster before rubber-stamping his unexpected move to the Walks.
“It’s great to be back in full-time football,” admitted Margetts.
“I played football every day when I was a kid until it was dark so to grow up and get paid to do it regardless of the money or the level is the best job in the world.
“With my injury troubles before I was resigned to the fact my playing days were finished, never mind getting back to full-time football so I’m extremely grateful.
“I’ve hit my first milestone of getting back full-time, now if I can help get King’s Lynn back into the National League it would be my proudest achievement.
“If you’d have told me that six years ago I’d have laughed. After everything I went through, to get a second chance makes me so determined to work harder than anybody to try to be successful.”
Margetts failed to find the net in his first three matches for Lynn, before opening his account in a 2-1 win at Gloucester City in early February.
It took him a few outings to find the back of the net again, but he rediscovered his scoring touch when he struck a brace in the 3-1 home win against South Shields.
That was the start of a scoring spree for Margetts, who ended the campaign with nine goals in 14 appearances.
But any thoughts of ending a season with a flourish looked a million miles away for both Margetts and Lynn after a 4-0 defeat against Curzon Ashton on his home debut.
“The Curzon Ashton game was a real tough night especially for me as it was only my second game,” he admitted.
“We’d played Hereford on the Saturday and let’s be fair got battered but nicked a 2-2 draw thanks to Jonah (Paul Jones).
“Then to get beat in the manner we did on Tuesday night, I’d hardly touched the ball in my first two games.
“I remember driving home with my dad thinking what have I done leaving a club where I was loving every game and scoring most weeks.
“But I think you’ve just gotta trust your gut and I’m glad I did. We just stuck together as a group, trusted the gaffer’s plans and tactics and worked as hard as we could every day. I don’t think you’ll ever go far wrong if you do that.
“For me, the Rushall match was the make-or-break game. If we won I knew we’d be safe and if we lost I thought it could get tricky.
“I think for me to score two goals and probably have my best game in front of my dad and my godfather, who came to watch me for the first time, was special.”
Margetts has nothing but praise for Linnets boss Adam Lakeland.
“I’ve been impressed with the gaffer since I’ve been here,” he said.
“I like and admire people who work extremely hard and the gaffer does that.
“The work he puts in every day is as hardworking as I’ve seen. It’s so similar to the pro clubs I’ve worked at. The level of training and his attention to detail says it all.
“From all accounts, it was a bit of a mixed bag before I arrived but the gaffer has put his stamp on the group and brought in his players so I can only speak about that.
“The lads have been great with me and the way they all applied themselves every day in training is the reason we managed to turn it around.
“I’ve no doubt the gaffer will recruit well this summer to make us stronger.”
The prolific forward has enjoyed a rollercoaster journey after coming through the ranks at Hull under the guidance of youth team manager Billy Russell, spending time at 17 different clubs across his nine-year senior career.
He had short spells in the EFL with Cambridge and Scunthorpe, while impressing in the National League at Lincoln, Altrincham and Southport.
But it hasn’t all been plain-sailing for the goalscorer extraordinaire, who thought his playing days were behind him following a serious knee injury six years ago.
“I had left Scunthorpe with my knee injury and had signed for Boston,” he recalled.
“I was in agony with it everyday session and wouldn’t stop swelling up, I got shipped out of there rightly so and went on loan to Gainsborough and then Matlock.
“It was one of the last games of the season against Grantham and my knee was huge all game and was throbbing. I’d been told by the surgeon he thought my career was done and that was the day I came to terms with it.
“I remember driving home with my dad and burst into tears. I cried on the way home from Grantham to Doncaster without being able to get a word out to my dad. I decided I wasn’t going to play after that.
“Luckily a few months later things changed and here we are.”
Seeing the back of the net bulge is never far away from the frontman’s thought process.
And it has served him well after plundering 88 goals in all competitions during the past two seasons.
“I believe I will score goals in whatever team or league I play in,” he said.
“The goals don’t move and the pitch is the same size. Everyone says the defenders are better the higher you go but so are the players you’re playing with so it balances itself out.
“If you’re a goalscorer you’ll score at whatever level you play at in the right team. Again it’s all about the service, even the best striker in the world won’t score as many in a defensive team.
“It sounds daft but people say they want to score goals but don’t mind if they don’t or don’t obsess themselves with it.
“If I don’t score it eats me up until the next game. Every year I want to try to beat the season before and I think if you’re setting targets worse than the previous season then you’re going backwards.
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