Championship leading scorer Chuba Akpom reveals he came close to retirement

Dealing with high expectations is not easy. Chuba Akpom is well aware of this, having been a youth player at Arsenal and having been on loan after loan after loan, he was on the verge of quitting football.

The Middlesbrough striker is his side's great hope of returning to the Premier League. They face Coventry City on Wednesday in the second leg of the promotion semi-finals.

After scoring 28 goals, he has established himself as the top scorer in the Championship. But, curiously, he has not scored a goal since 19th April.

"There were many times when I wanted to quit when things went wrong with the transfers, or I didn't fit into the teams. But I kept working hard and I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. I knew things would work out for me," he told the 'Daily Mail'.

"My biggest strength is my mentality. I never doubted myself: work hard and everything will be fine," revealed the winner of the Player of the Season award.