I'm living the dream at Birmingham City and I want to play until I'm 40
Birmingham City face Peterborough United in the Vertu Trophy final at Wembley on Sunday and Alfie May is desperate to play
Alfie May is back to being Alfie May and doing what Alfie May does best – scoring goals.
That’s according to Alfie May whose return to form has come at the perfect time for Birmingham City.
Having come through a 16-game dry spell, the Blues striker has now scored five in four games to not only seal the League One promotion deal, he has now given himself a shot of breaking his Wembley duck this weekend.
Indeed just getting on to the pitch against Peterborough United on Sunday would be a first for a player who arrived at St Andrew’s last summer having never played at the home of football, nor at Championship level. He now has a chance of doing both.
“The minute I signed, from the first meeting I had with with the gaffer and Gards [Craig Gardner] was the club needs to be out of this league and back where they belong in the Championship.
“We said it from the start that we're on a journey and part of the journey has been sorted but we've got a few more things to deal with towards the end of the season now.
“I was a kid chasing a dream that I didn't think was ever going to happen and to say that I'm playing one underneath the Premier League and tell my kids and things like that it's just a dream.
"My phone's blowing up and people text me saying 'You're a Championship player' and it means a lot.”
How much May plays next season might be a moot point, Jay Stansfield is not only the club’s biggest ever investment, he is the poster boy for the Knighthead rebrand, he also has a stranglehold at the one striking role in Chris Davies’ team.
Indeed the 22-year-old will almost certainly start at Wembley, the only issue being whether May can force his way past Willum Willumsson and compel Davies to fashion an XI that contains both his No. 9s.
Such quandaries are above most pay grades and for now the former Charlton and Cheltenham forward is basking in the warmth of a late career summer. Ten years ago the mere suggestion was risible .
“I'd have laughed,” May tells BirminghamLive. “I'd have still thought that I was going to be working on a building site.
“I had trials a few places and didn't get that and it was coming to an age where I needed to focus on work. To stand here now to say that I'm going to be a Championship player and play at Wembley on Sunday, it's a dream come true.
“I want to go until I'm 40 if I can in the EFL, or if that's in the Premier League I won't be stopping. I came into the game late, so I'm probably not my age. I feel a little bit younger. I haven't experienced football from 14,15, 16 in academies and things like that.
“I've been available for every training session, I've been available for every game this season and like I say, hopefully I'm available for the rest of the games that we've got left.
“I look after myself very well to make sure that I'm available every single day for the team that I'm playing for. I didn't know until after the [Peterborough] game that it was my 50th game of the season and at 31 probably some people don't get that.
“It was nice to see that and if you look back at my career I've not had any major injuries, touch wood, my body will keep going. I'll tell my body when to stop.”
May will be hoping the only stopping he does on Sunday will be next to the Vertu Trophy, rather than filing past it as the final losers must do. All of Blues’ players have a story to tell about their journey to the most famous stadium in the world, May’s starts in the opposition dug-out.
“You see what quality Peterborough have, they're a really good team. I actually worked under Darren Ferguson, he was the man that gave me a pro contract and his teams have always been good on the ball.
“They have got some really, really good players and it was a tough match on Tuesday and it’s going to be a tough game on Sunday and we know what they're going to bring and we need to be right up for it.
“It's the first time I'm going to hopefully be there and that's another tick. I've always said it before I retire I wanted to play in the Champ and to box off Wembley – they're the things that I'm aiming for.
“I'm back to being Alfie May and Alfie May scores goals, that's what I'm best at. I just needed to get myself in the box more and probably slow down a little bit. So now I've taken my time entering the box and timing things perfectly now.”
A late run into Posh’s penalty area on Sunday might just be the perfect metaphor for May’s entire career.