Across the last two of Adam Reach’s three seasons at West Brom, he could not catch a break with injuries.
In 2022-23, he was limited to just three Sky Bet Championship starts and only five in 2023-24.
When his contract expired in June 2024 and he left The Hawthorns, the saving grace was that he was fit again and ready to find a new club.
Then 30, and with over 400 appearances to his name, he would be an attractive prospect – or so he thought.
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Lincoln City’s Adam Reach discusses the realities of the seven-month period he spent as a free agent after leaving West Brom in the summer of 2024.
“It was the first time really I’d been out of contract and I think I was a little bit naïve now, looking back,” he tells Sky Sports.
“I automatically thought, I’ve played X amount of games in the Championship that, by default, that the next club will just come along.
“But we’re seeing in the last couple of years is clubs taking a slight shift towards younger players and players from overseas, trying to bring them in and flip them for profit, which is great. But, with every shift of a strategy, there’s always then some people who get left behind and fall through the net and I think I was in that.
Reach managed just eight Championship starts across 2022/23 and 2023/24
“Those seven months when I was out of contract were really difficult as someone who’s played every season for the last 13, 14 years. To then not have that feeling of being in a club and sitting on the sofa and watching Gillette Soccer Saturday instead of being out there and playing is really difficult.
“I hope that I’m not in that situation ever again. I don’t wish that upon anyone.”
Reach attended the inaugural PFA pre-season – a fully-funded, residential training camp designed to help free agents back into the game – that summer, but when the 2024-25 season got under way, he was still at square one.
“For pretty much 99 per cent of the time, I trained on my own,” he says.
“Naturally – and quite fortunately – I’m a fit lad and I don’t think it takes loads for me to keep on top of it. But you can’t replicate the match day experience and the high intensity of training on your own. It’s impossible.
“The biggest thing was the mental side; the lack of a routine, a schedule, a purpose and getting up in the morning, knowing that you’re not training, you’re not working towards the game on a Saturday, which is what we all love to do.
“It was the mental balance of trying to get up and go out and do my work, and hope and trust in the process that, eventually, I’d get an opportunity.”
It did allow time for reflection, though. And a rare opportunity to limit the strain on his body.
“I always try and put a positive spin on it,” Reach adds.
“From a physical point of view, it allowed me to take a little break and have a period of not as intense training, which takes its toll, whatever age you are, when it’s Saturday, Tuesday, week in, week out.
“Maybe from a mental point of view, it pressed the reset button and reminded me how much I love being a professional footballer, how fortunate I am to be in this position. You can sometimes forget about that and forget how lucky we all are.
“That time away from it sparked a little fire in my belly again to get back out there. We’re all humans, we want to prove people wrong, don’t we? I also wanted to prove myself right that I wasn’t finished and I still had a lot more to give the club and a lot more matches and games left in my career.”
He played 15 times for Wycombe after signing a short-term deal in February 2025
An opportunity did finally arise on February 3 2025, when Reach signed a short-term deal at Wycombe. He played 15 times for the Chairboys and helped them reach the League One play-offs.
He left after they failed to get to the final and, after another stint at PFA pre-season, signed for Lincoln, where he is making up for lost time – and then some.
The 32-year-old penned a one-year deal on September 1, but by January 26 he had made such an impact to the Imps’ promotion push – contributing four goals and three assists from left-back – that the 12-month extension was triggered early.
“You’ve always got to back your own potential. I was confident I could get into the team, and once I got a run in the team, I was confident my performance levels would improve and maintain at a high level,” says Reach.
Lincoln triggered a 12-month extension in Reach’s deal in January
“On reflection, it’s probably gone better than I expected in terms of my own performances, but also with how well the club itself are doing in League One. It’s been brilliant. I’ve settled in so well. I feel like I’ve been here a few years now rather than six months and that’s a by-product of how good the people are at this club.
“I’m so glad I have signed a new deal and I’m guaranteed to be here for next year as well, because the club is on such a positive journey and it’s a real honour to even just play a small part in that, but it’s a part that I want to continue playing for many more years.”
The way things are going, he might soon find himself playing that role in the Championship.
Michael Skubala’s side are currently on a run of 14 games without defeat and jostling with Cardiff for the League One title. The gap between themselves and Bolton in third stands at five points, with 16 games left to play.
Reach admits it is business as usual, one game at a time, while also keeping the personal and collective end goals at the forefront of his mind.
“I don’t think you shouldn’t hide away from talking about promotion. It’s the aim of the club and we’ll put ourselves in a fantastic position to do so.
“We’ve also got a really good squad if we do get into the Championship, we have players in the squad that know how intense the Championship is and what it takes to survive in there. The club, in the last couple of transfer windows, have recruited really well and I’m sure they would do the same again.
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Highlights of the Sky Bet League One match between Lincoln City and Bolton Wanderers.
“It would be fantastic to see for the city and that the people here. We get reminded of this all the time, it’s been a long time since this club’s been in the second tier and for us as players, not that we need extra motivation, but that gives us that little bit extra to fight for, knowing that it would be a historical moment.
“Personally, just with 15 games left, if I can play a part in all of those, I’m looking at nigh-on 40-game season, which I think is great. That’s something in the early parts of my career I was just doing on a regular basis, not really thinking too much about it. I would love to get back to that and also stay fit, just like anyone.
“If I can look back on this season and we’ve achieved what we wanted to, then it will go down as the best moment of my career, the best season of my career by far.”
Watch Lincoln vs Northampton live on Sky Sports+ on Tuesday night; kick-off 7.45pm