Leeds United ace Luke Ayling details ‘horrible’ feeling with speech impediment
What many people might not know is that Leeds United defender Luke Ayling is continuously battling with a speech impediment.
The 30-year-old often avoided doing interviews in public during his earlier career due to being scared of what the condition could do to him when speaking.
But he has become less affected by the speech impediment in his most recent years and now he is mostly confident to speak to the media when asked.
“When I first came to Leeds, I wasn’t at all comfortable doing interviews,” Ayling said in an interview with BBC Sport.
“I’ve kind of got to a point now where I just don’t care. If I do an interview and I have a little stutter and people point out that I say ‘then’ and ‘like’ a lot, they don’t know that’s my safety blanket because I know I can get them out.
“I got to a point where I thought ‘there is someone here who wants to speak to me and hear what I’ve got to say, why am I scared to do it?’
“I still have some insecurities and it’s horrible because I have so much I want to say but I know I can’t always get it out and then I mumble on.”
True leader
Ayling might not be the club captain at Leeds United but that doesn’t mean he can’t show the kind of leadership that the skipper would.
This doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with football or his ability to play at a Premier League level but he does show the younger members of the squad how crucial it is to be yourself.
It would have been very easy for Ayling to keep this speech impediment hidden from the public eye and let his teammates take on media duties but he doesn’t want any stone to be left unturned.
It’s a credit to him that he feels comfortable coming out about his condition and while he may not be the number one choice for the armband on the pitch, his presence in the dressing room is forever a reminder of the resilience needed to make it in the big time.
In other Leeds United news, Jeff Stelling has predicted how Saturday’s Premier League clash against Southampton is going to finish.