JEMEL Fox admitted “retribution doesn’t get you anywhere in life” as he tries to put his troubled past behind him.

The 20-year-old left-sided player was sacked by AFC Sudbury boss Chris Tracey last month for allegedly breaching his contract.

The Ryman League Division One North club cancelled his contract after Fox was alleged to have not attended training, not reported an injury and then sought treatment from outside the club.

It was the second time in a few months that Fox had fallen foul of his employers, after he was handed a 56-day ban by Suffolk FA earlier in the season.

He was sent off while playing in a six-a-side league in Ipswich without the club’s knowledge and received a 35-day ban, and was handed an additional 21-day ban for refusing to give his name to the match official.

AFC Sudbury backed him at the time and did not discipline him, while Fox said he was young, it was a learning curve for him and vowed to learn from his mistakes.

However, Tracey went public with his decision to subsequently sack the player, who he clearly felt had let him down.

Fox, who is the nephew of ex-Norwich City, Newcastle United and Tottenham winger Ruel Fox, said: “Whatever Chris said to the papers is his opinion, but from my point of view he has tarnished my name. But I am young enough to get over it and I am not going to let it bother me. Retribution doesn’t get you anywhere in life.

“I enjoyed playing at Sudbury and loved the club, and I am still coaching the ladies’ team there on Wednesdays and Sundays.

“It is a shame I have left Sudbury as I met some fantastic people there and I will miss them, although I will still see them.”

Fox is now looking to fulfil his potential after being given a new lease of life at high-flying Leiston.

Manager Mark Morsley, who had been tracking the player for some time, moved swiftly to sign Fox once it became clear his days at AFC Sudbury were numbered.

Leiston, who are top of Ryman League Division One North, snapped up Fox on a contract until the end of the season, and the player admitted: “The timing was spot on. They are a club on the rise and are top of the league with a young team who want to win trophies.

“There is a real buzz about the club which will hopefully continue and I feel I can do well at Leiston.

“I am only 20 and have got most of my career still ahead of me. I am looking to play my part between now and the end of the season and then hopefully extend my contract for next season.”

Fox played at AFC Sudbury with Curtis Haynes-Brown, who last summer signed for Yeovil after impressing in the Ryman League Premier Division with Lowestoft Town, and would love to emulate his former team-mate,” he said.

“I would love to go all the way. I am a confident person and think I have got the potential to play at a higher level.

“You never know who is watching or talking about you. But I am not going to worry about it – if I make it, I make it and if I don’t, I don’t.”

Fox has come a long way in a short space of time considering that as a youngster he was more interested in joining the Army.

He didn’t start playing football until he was 14 when he joined Whitton United.

After joining Needham Market when he was 16 through the PASE scheme and playing mainly in the reserves and a few times for the first team, Fox signed for AFC Sudbury around Christmas 2010.

He established himself as a regular in the side at left back, winning the supporters’ player of the year award in his first full season, before this campaign turned sour for him at the King’s Marsh Stadium.