Jamie Jellis: From working in warehouses to starring for Walsall

When Jamie Jellis was released by Stevenage aged 19 in 2020 it could really have gone any way, especially in the midst of the pandemic.

But he knuckled down and went to work – literally and metaphorically. He switched to the part-time game and fought his way back.

“It was hard dropping out of football at the age of like 19 or 20,” he admits. “It was during Covid as well so everyone was scrambling around.

“For me it was just about getting my head down and finding a job, and doing the side of life I hadn’t experienced before. I had to stay mentally strong and just believe I could get that opportunity to climb the pyramid again.”

He certainly has done that since joining Walsall from non-League Tamworth at the start of the year. An injury initially held him back, but this season he has been brilliant for a side flying high at the top of League Two.

He never takes any of it for granted, such was the graft he faced to get back into the full-time game.

“I had so many jobs,” he continues. “I started off in warehouses, then went into bricklaying with one of my brother’s friends, which was so tough to balance with training.

“Obviously it was tough doing such a manual job then having the energy to train in the evenings. It was completely different to what I’d known before.

“Then I went to work with my uncle in his air-compressor business. He was a massive help because he allowed me to be flexible with my hours so I could get to training and try to better myself. He played a massive part in helping me with my rise again.

“I’ve always believed in my ability. Sometimes in football it’s about being mentally strong and dealing with the knockbacks.

“From there it was more about staying mentally strong. Just believing that I’d get an opportunity, and if someone was watching to have the chance to climb the pyramid again.”

Saturday 11th January 12:00pm


Kick off 12:30pm

It was a year ago last January when Jellis was picked back up by an EFL club, as Walsall brought him up from Tamworth in League Two.

In a way it was not the easiest of starts. He arrived injured and did not feature until mid-April.

“It was tough coming in injured, but it was also a bit of a blessing as it gave me to the time to adapt again to full-time football and get to know the lads and how it works at the club,” he says.

“I just appreciate being around the training ground and in the building. I see it as a blessing that I’m back in full-time football.

“I’ve done the other side of life where you have to work and try and play part-time. Now I can solely focus on getting better every day and working hard – either on the grass or in the gym.

“I was lucky to get my debut and make a couple of appearances last season.”

It was that appearance, an innocuous six minutes off the bench at home in a 3-1 defeat against Notts County, where it all sunk in.

“It didn’t really sink in until then,” Jellis says. “It was a goosebumps moment for me when I found out I was going to come on.

“I had my family there to experience it too. They have always been so supportive in the good times and there for me in the tough times when I thought I may never get back into the game.

“My mum was always chewing my ear off and telling me it would work out. Her and my dad always pushed me from a young age and took me wherever I needed to go.”

It was that appreciation of where his journey had taken him that made Jellis knuckle down in the summer. He started the first game of the season and has been a key part of a side that, under Mat Sadler, are flying away at the top of League Two.

Jellis has earned rave reviews for his performances.

“I always believed in myself and my ability,” he says. “During the off-season I just wanted to work as hard as I could and make sure that when that first game came around I was in that starting XI and then to put in a performance that cemented my place within the team.

“I’m really proud of how involved I’ve been this season, especially after the tough start here with the injury last year.

“Hopefully I can keep up with these performances and add more goals and assists where I can. I want to make memories for me, the team and the fans.”

It has been a staggering campaign for Walsall, a club who have laboured for five seasons in League Two are blowing it apart in the sixth.

For Jellis, it could mean a promotion on his CV in his first full season in the EFL. He knows what it would mean to the fans who have not had one to celebrate for 18 years.

“I feel like I’m improving as I learn the league and that I’m getting stronger,” he says.

“We’re flying as a team and I love being at the club. They’ve given me the opportunity and I want to thank them for that.”