Mekhi McKenzie has adapted to life at Brentwood Town well so far, with four goals in his first eight appearances for the club. The striker introduced himself to the travelling Blues support with a fine strike on his debut away to Bowers & Pitsea. He also found the net against Enfield, as well as scoring a brace away to Witham Town.

Mekhi has certainly impressed since his move from Essex Senior League outfit FC Clacton. A player that our coaching staff had been tracking for some time, the tall and powerful striker felt it was time for a new challenge at a higher level after a prolific spell in north-east Essex. He scored 30 goals for The Seasiders last season, making him their top goalscorer for the third season in a row.

Although McKenzie has now established himself as a striker, he played in central midfield during his younger days. ‘My football hero growing up was Frank Lampard. As I support Chelsea I loved to watch him play and of course my favourite number is 8!’

Lampard wasn’t the only player Mekhi grew up admiring. We asked who would make his all time five a side team. The likes of Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Samuel Eto’o all made the cut for Mekhi. In his own words ‘Prime Barcelona were unstoppable!’

However, Mekhi’s had his challenges to overcome in his career. As a youngster, he was unable to play for a year as he had Osgood-Schlatter disease in both of his knees. Citing the importance of his father, Mekhi was able to recover and kickstart his career. ‘It was hard and I wanted to give up as I felt I wouldn’t overcome my injury, but my dad helped me with getting physio sessions and building my confidence to carry on believing in my dream of becoming a footballer.’

With strong competition for a berth in one of the forward positions in Keith Rowland’s squad, Mekhi is all too aware of the importance of getting his match preparation right. He highlights the need to sleep early, eat a healthy breakfast and ensure he’s consuming enough fluids to prepare for matchday.

Mekhi will be looking to continue his goalscoring form in the coming months as we continue our promotion push. We’re looking forward to seeing Mekhi continue to develop at Brentwood Town.