ASWAD THOMAS lays it all down on his twitter bio: The best left-back outside the Football League.
But the Grimsby and England C man should not be mistaken for a jumped-up young footballer. Far from it.
Before sitting down in England C’s Bexleyheath hotel for this interview, I almost had to plead with the 23-year-old for him to go ahead in the dinner queue.
Thomas couldn’t be any more courteous. In fact his bold statement is just a determination to be the very best he can be and to push himself onto the next level.
“People might look at it and think, ‘Oh he’s a bit cheeky, it’s a bit arrogant, a bit cocky,’ but ultimately I am trying to be the best left-back outside the Football League,” he says.
“When I go out I have that in my head because I’m trying to play to that standard. It might not always happen. But at least if I set my targets high, even if I don’t reach them in that particular game, I’ll be there or thereabouts.
“There’s no point going into a game just to participate. I’m going out to do well for Grimsby and show people I do mean it. I always want to raise the bar.”
Thomas has huge motivation and desire after the tragic sudden death of his mother, Penelope, when he was a 19-year-old at Charlton Athletic.
“She always said I was going to make it one day,” Thomas says. “When I play games, especially big games like now, and I’m a bit nervous I think about her.
“She worked too hard for me to come and muck it all up. I’m always striving to better myself for her. I was 19 at the time – it’s obviously one of the worst things that could happen.”
Thomas, understandably, had time off from Charlton and at the end of the season manager Phil Parkinson asked the Addicks youth product what he wanted to do next.
“Parky said, ‘Look As, you’ve had a tough few months. You’re welcome to come back, train and try to get something or we’ll let you go’,” Thomas says. “I know my mum wouldn’t want me to feel sorry for myself and mope around so I thought I have to get on with things and go play my football. That’s what she would have wanted.
“I think everything happens for a reason. Maybe I had to go to Woking to get the nitty-gritty and the Non-League side of me which has helped me.”
Two years at Kingfield saw Thomas establish himself as one of the best prospects in the Blue Square Bet South before last season stepping up with unfancied Braintree and helping them to a fantastic 12th place finish.
He continued to catch the eye, Paul Fairclough put him in an England C contingency squad, and in the summer he was back in full-time football with Grimsby.
The move north means dad Christopher can’t always get to watch, so a second England C cap – following on from his first in Belgium last September – against Turkey on Tuesday was the perfect chance.
“My dad and brother came to watch,” Thomas says. “They don’t get to come up and see me at Grimsby too much so it’s nice. I always take their feedback seriously because they want the best for me.
“My dad watches the highlights anyway so he’ll ring me up on a Sunday and be like, ‘Well done here, what happened there?’ – I can’t hide!”
There was certainly no hiding against a Turkey side teaming with talent. In his two England appearances Thomas has more than shown he belongs on the international stage.
Now it’s about helping the Mariners get back on the stage they want to be performing on – the Football League.
And the Grimsby backline is certainly a good place to be right now with their goal so far the least troubled this season in the BSBP as they lead the way at the top.
“It’s good at the moment. We keep things tight back there and we’ve got quality going forward.”
Keep raising that bar and Thomas won’t be the best left-back outside the Football League for much longer.
