Derby midfielder Bradley Johnson discusses road back from rejection

Bradley Johnson has revealed that he lost interest in football and nearly dropped out of the game when he was released by his boyhood club Arsenal at 15.

The Derby midfielder was picked up by Cambridge two years later via a stint with Waltham Forest in the Ryman League while he also undertook a carpentry apprenticeship.

Johnson eventually worked his way up the leagues and fulfilled a childhood dream when he turned out for Norwich in the Premier League for the first time in 2011, eight years after his hopes were initially dashed.

"It was a dream for me. I was an Arsenal fan, I still am an Arsenal fan, and from getting a contract when I was 10 until I was 15, it was every boy's dream - to play for their local club, their boyhood club," he told Sky Sports.

"When they released me it was heart-breaking, I lost interest in football but it's down to the family I have behind me and the character that I am that I never gave up.

"I always worked hard and knew I'd get my opportunity. It came two years later when I was 16, 17 and I had the chance to prove myself at Cambridge United and I haven't looked back since."

While the 28-year-old insists he never gave up on becoming a professional footballer, he admitted that had begun to consider options away from the sport having fallen out of love with the game before being snapped up by The U's.

"I did an apprenticeship for carpentry, I went to college in Lewisham and I did that for six months," said Johnson.

"Even then I was going to play for my local team Waltham Forest, training with them and playing in the Ryman League for them on a Saturday.

"But yeah, I did lose interest in football and start thinking about other ways to go. I come from a working background, my dad is a roofer and all my family are builders and stuff so I did the apprenticeship in carpentry for six months - I'm not going to say I'm a qualified carpenter but it's something I'm always interested in.

"I did a bricklaying course in my time at Norwich two years ago and really enjoyed it. But I never gave up believing I could be a footballer. I got my head down and worked hard and luckily I got my chance at Cambridge."

Having battled his way up the divisions and getting a taste of the top flight in his time with Norwich, Johnson now has his sights set on a return to the Premier League with Derby.

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The east Midlands club have fallen at the final hurdle in their bid for promotion on a number of occasions in the last few years but Johnson is convinced that they now have everything in place to fulfil that ambition this season.

"We've got everything here," he added. "The owner, Mel [Morris], he's a true Derby fan and you can tell just by the money he's put in and the changes he's made.

"I wasn't sure I was coming to sign on deadline day but as I soon as I came here I wanted it to happen and thankfully it did happen. Since day one that I've been here everything that we have been doing is preparing to go into the Premier League.

"We've got everything: we've the players, the staff, the squad, the fans, the stadium, we've got everything to be there. It's just down to us, the XI the manager picks on a Saturday to do the business."