Wales and Southampton midfielder Alice Griffiths is coming off the back of an incredible two games for her country, but for a while, it never felt like she would get the opportunity.
Having made her debut at just 16-years-old under Jayne Ludlow against Kazakhstan, a run of bad injuries saw her absent from squads and camps for a number of years.
A new manager and good performances at club level earned Griffiths callups back to the senior side.
Her role was different, however, and she was viewed more as a supporting player, where she would participate in training
“With Gemma Grainger coming in, I was a training player under her, and I was never really selected for the squads. I was in a couple because of injuries to other players, but she never picked me outright.
“It’s difficult to be that fringe player all the time, thinking I’m not quite good enough again and having those negative thoughts.
“When you’re around people who make you feel like you’re good enough to be there and make you believe in yourself then it’s great, and you’re going to perform better and enjoy the environment.”
It’s no secret that footballers want to play as many minutes as they can, and to represent your country is the highest honour anyone could achieve.
It’s the dream for young girls and boys across Wales, and Griffiths is one of the lucky few able to don the famous red jersey.
But that dream was in danger of unravelling under Grainger, and no matter how hard she worked, Griffiths knew that, sometimes, it wouldn’t be enough.
“She just wasn’t picking me. When you’re a training player that then gets promoted to a squad player, it’s unlikely that you’re going to step foot on the pitch, because she never picked me in the first place.
“I went into camps knowing I probably wasn’t getting any minutes, and no mattered how hard I trained, it wasn’t going to matter that much.
“Gemma was very good with her communication, and we had honest conversations, and those conversations were that I was a training player.
“It’s a difficult position to be in. I want to give my best, and every player wants to feel appreciated and valued. I never felt like a big part of the squad under Gemma.”
Grainger would depart for Norway at the start of the year, and her replacement Rhian Wilkinson certainly saw a place in her team for Griffiths.
Appearances against Croatia and Kosovo indicated how the Canadian saw Griffiths, but it was at half-time in the Slovakian town of Poprad that changed everything.
0-0 but Wales were struggling. Looking at her bench, Wilkinson’s first port of call was the Southampton midfielder.
“Rhian just told me to be myself. Stay calm, stay composed, and do what you do best. She knows I’m not a flashy player and I just do the basics well and keep the team ticking over. That’s what you have to do in that position.
“I was really grateful to the players around me too like Angharad and Hayley, because they had a quick work with me before I came on and it just felt like I had the support from everyone around me, and having that confidence enables me to play my best football.”
It certainly looked that Griffiths was playing with a confidence only a few could match. Despite losing the first leg, the Saint was a standout.
Her starring role earned her a start in the second leg at Cardiff City Stadium, and once again, she shined alongside Angharad James in the middle of the park.
After a tough few years, it finally felt like Griffiths had arrived, and if called on again, she will be more than ready to pick up where she left off.
“For me, I’d rather do the things to make sure I’m ready, regardless of the position I’m playing in. If Rhian tells me I’m starting or coming off the bench or not play at all, I know I’ve done everything up to that point to make sure I’m ready for whatever comes.
“It’s the same case going into every camp. I want to be at my best and know I have full confidence in myself. I’ve not started in a long time so I can’t say I saw it coming, but when I was given that chance, I wasn’t going to let it pass me by. I wanted to take it with both hands.”
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From Cyncoed to the Championship
Griffiths’ status as a senior starter has coincided with her rise in club football.
Hailing from the valleys, her first steps in the game weren’t at an established WSL academy. Instead, they were in the Adran Premier.
Starting out at Cyncoed Ladies (now Pontypridd United), Griffiths made the move to Cardiff Met, where she won countless trophies and also a Young Player of the Year crown.
“I was quite young when I played for Met. I was trying to find a way into senior football, and I played for Cyncoed before Met. A few of my friends were playing there so I joined, and it was great for me at the time.
“It gave me that next step forward in football, and it was a great environment to be in.”
Stints at Charlton Athletic and Bridgwater followed her successful time with the Archers, but in 2021, Griffiths was off on a new adventure, this time to the south coast and to Southampton.
The Welsh international joined the Saints while in the third tier, but in her first season, she helped them to promotion to the Championship.
The second tier can swallow clubs whole, but Southampton have stabilised in the division and are very much looking up. Griffiths says the goal is to reach the WSL, and the club are doing everything they can to get there.
“There was always pressure from within the club to go from the Championship to the WSL, and that’s still the aim.
‘Sometimes those expectations are not realistic because this league is so difficult to get out of, but we’re always going to try and be ambitious and try and win the league.
“That will always be our aim, and it’s good to have a club that backs you and that your part of a high-performance environment that pushes you on every day.”
But when you speak about Southampton, only one person comes to mind, and that’s Marieanne Spacey-Cale.
Simply, Southampton wouldn’t be what it is now without the vision and determination of Spacey-Cale, and Griffiths will always be thankful for what the former Arsenal player has done for her career.
“Marianne invited me to have a look around the place before signing, so I came with my dad, and we chatted in her office about what the club could give me and what they could offer me.
“She just seemed to understand me as a player, and playing in the midfield, not many people recognise you as a player and the work you do. Sometimes you can go a lot of games unnoticed, but Marianne really saw that side of me.
“Marianne looked out for me a lot and she always gave me the belief that, when I had my injuries, that I’d keep coming back and be the same player.”
Spacey-Cale has transformed Southampton into a team contending at the top of the WSL, and she has passed that mantle on to current manager, Remi Allen.
But while the Saints are an ever-improving team, so are plenty of other clubs in the second tier. Currently, only five points separate first from eighth, and Griffiths believes a competitive Championship will only make her a better player.
“You know you’re going to have a competitive game every week at this level. When you have a result that doesn’t go your way, like we did against Newcastle last week, it’s not the end of the world, because you know everyone is taking points off each other.
“It just means you have to work hard all week and be ready for the next challenge. It makes sure you keep performing at a high level every week and you have to be at your best to get anything from any game.”
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Chasing history
League action will be on hold after this weekend, as Griffiths and the rest of the Wales squad prepare to face the Republic of Ireland for a place at Euro 2025.
There is certainly plenty of talk about what the consequences of qualifying for a first major tournament could mean for Wales, but Griffiths is only looking at the task in hand.
“It’s really exciting! They are high pressure games, but they’re the reason why you play football. We obviously don’t know the team or anything yet, but we all have to prepare for everything at our clubs and make sure we can do everything we can to be ready.
“They are important games, but you don’t want to think too much about it. When you think about making history, sometimes it can be overwhelming, but the most important thing is winning the game.
“Regardless of what comes after, we have to play the game first and focus on the task in hand.”
However, for all the professionalism, it is impossible for minds not to wander.
For everything Griffiths has gone through to get to this stage of her Wales career, qualification would be extra special for her, and she’s determined to make it a reality.
“Qualifying for a Euros would be unbelievable. If you look at the journey, I’ve been on during my international career, it will make it that little bit sweeter for me as well. I’ve been in positions where it’s been really tough.
“Playing for your country is a massive achievement and something I’m really proud of. I want to be the best version of myself and keep getting into these squads, and it would be incredible if we do it.”
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