Christian Doidge clinches League Two Player of the Month award Forest Green Rovers hotshot Christian Doidge says he had to pinch himself after scooping the League Two Player of the Month award for November.

Having stepped away from the professional game as a teenager following his release from Bristol Rovers, Doidge pursued a career with South Wales Police as well as representing the Welsh nation basketball side.

However, he found his way back into football and hasn’t looked back since joining for Rovers in 2016.

“I’m really happy with this award and didn’t think I would ever achieve anything like this, I didn’t even think that I would be a professional footballer if I’m honest,” he said.

“I thought I was going to have to work for the rest of my life.

“So, to get the opportunity to play professional football and then to do pretty well is really good and I’ve got to pinch myself sometimes.”

Having scored 27 goals in Rovers’ promotion season last year, including a goal in the play-off final against Tranmere, Doidge still felt like he had a point to prove as he made a return to the Football League.

The 25-year-old has gone on to make a mark in League Two, scoring 15 goals in all competitions to date, with six of those coming in four League Two games in the month of November, leading to his latest gong.

“I just wanted to show people I could do it at this level,” he added.

“I’d shown that I could do it at National League level with all the goals I scored but I think there was still a question mark next to my name because of my time at Dagenham.

“I scored goals but it was in a team that was really struggling so I wanted to really prove myself this year and I’ve still got to keep doing that and that’s how I feel every time I get on the pitch.”

With the January transfer window on the horizon, Doidge’s fine form has sparked local media speculation regarding his future, but the striker says he is more than content at The New Lawn and wants to achieve more with Forest Green.

“I’m really happy here,” he explained.

“I’ve obviously got that little bit of security of a long-term contract behind me and I think that’s really important for a footballer because it lets you be confident and really forget about that side of things and just worry about putting the ball in the back of the net.

“It’s an exciting time for a lot of players but it’s something I haven’t really thought of because I am contracted to Forest Green.”