Wycombe Wanderers striker Dan Udoh has opened up on how his Christian faith has kept him on the ‘straight and narrow’.
The 28-year-old, who was born in the Nigerian city of Lagos but moved to England with his family in 2005 at the age of nine, has had Christianity ‘installed’ in him since childhood, but admitted that it wasn’t until his teenage years when he started to openly learn about the religion.
His curiosity began during his youth team days at Stevenage which was the first time he had moved away from his parents, and despite having ‘ups and downs’, he has remain unshaken due to his faith in Jesus Christ.
He told the Free Press: “My faith is one of the main things that keeps me humble.
“I’ll have a lot of noise if I think I’ve started the season well, so as soon as I get home, I need to remind myself to have humility, and know that the Lord will guide me through different situations.
“Times like these [scoring goals for a professional club] is what I have prayed for, and my faith is what keeps me on the straight and narrow, so I don’t get too big-headed.
“I was born into faith and my parents installed that into me, but it wasn’t until I left home and went to Stevenage in my youth team days that I started to find faith myself.
“I was praying more and reading my Bible.
“I was getting to know and having a proper relationship with God, than being forced to go to church by my parents.”
When asked about his favourite verse in the holy book, he revealed it was from Philippians 4:13 which states, ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me’.
The ex-Shrewsbury Town man has followed that verse for several years, revealing that the passage is of ‘great value’ to his life and principles.
And with the striker now a father to a young son, he hopes to ‘remain focused’ on what is important in life.
He continued: “That verse has got a lot of value and meaning to me.
“Through my ups and downs, which include my injury [during the 2022/23 season] where I didn’t play, Christ gave me the strength to be strong physically and mentally.
“He will make me ready for the ups and downs of life.
“Having a son too has also helped me keep my focus and remember that everything I do is in the Glory of God.”
Udoh, along well fellow Christians in Richard Kone and Jason McCarthy, prayer with each before matches, and there are talks of the trio having a weekly Bible study.
This used to be a regular occurrence in recent seasons at the club's old Marlow Road Training Ground, which involved names such as McCarthy, and his former teammates in Alex Samuel, Adebayo Akinfenwa, Nnamdi Ofoborh, Cameron Yates, Andre Burley, Adam Leathers, Nick Freeman and Dennis Adeniran.
They are hosted by the club’s Chaplin, Benedict Musola.
He continued: “Benedict, the club vicar, is someone that we speak to quite a bit, and it’s great to have Christ-minded brothers in the team.
“Before games, we have a prayer and it gives us an uplift which is what we need.
“When one is low, we pick the other up.”
In January 2021, a segment on BBC's Daybreak focused on Wanderers' Christian core, and in 2023, the Free Press sat down with Jason McCarthy about how he found Christ.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article