David Billington is hoping a move to Oxford City can kick-start his non-league football career after he was forced to give up the professional game with Sheffield Wednesday aged just 20.

Since the age of five, Billington, 21, who lives at the family home in Littlemore Road, Cowley, and has just signed on for Oxford City, harboured dreams of making the grade as a footballer.

David Billington

The Oxford Boys School pupil played for Littlemore Boys before he spent a couple of years at Oxford United's School of Excellence.

When he was 14, Billington signed on schoolboy forms with Peterborough United and two years later he was one of a crop of youngsters, including Simon Davies (now at Tottenham) to become a Peterborough trainee.

The midfielder made his debut for Barry Fry's side against at home to York City in September 1997, and four Division 3 appearances later, Sheffield Wednesday boss David Pleat signed Billington and teammate Mark McKeever for a combined fee of £1m.

Billington said: "Barry was a great influence. He was really good at geeing up the players before games.

"I think Peter Shreeves was the best manager I have played for. Everyone had so much respect for him. He took over Wednesday and saved them from going down."

Steven Judge, a sports reporter with the Peterborough Evening Telegraph, said: "David was a hell of a prospect at the time. He was still playing for Peterborough's youth team. But he got plagued by injuries.

"He came back here for a trial last year but he only lasted a week before he broke down."

Billington became a regular in the Yorkshire club's reserve side until his injury nightmare began and he started getting problems with his right knee.

He said: "Apparently, the bone alignment in my right leg wasn't right. I also had bits of cartilage floating around in the knee.

"That got sorted out but the allignment problem wasn't discovered until later. I had treatment and was playing in the reserves off and on for two years.

"Playing for the first team is a lot different from the reserves. You have to train more often.

"I wanted to get in the first team but every time I stepped up my training and went to the gym, the knee gave out.

"There were a lot of changes of manager and when a new one came in I stepped up my training to try and get in the team.

"Paul Jewell said I would be on the bench if I could up the training. I tried so many times but it didn't work."

Billington thought his injury crisis was over at one stage after he made the bench against Coventry, Arsenal and Leicester, but sadly it was no good.

He played his last game for Wednesday in November last year against Bradford Reserves before he went to Peterborough on loan.

That didn't work out and he went back to Yorkshire, where, after talking to the club physio, doctor and a specialist, he made the hardest decision of his life - to give up the full-time game for good. That was in April.

Billington said: "It didn't kick in straight away. I had wanted to play professional football since I was five and never once thought of giving the game up altogether.

"I decided to relax and went on holiday to get away from the game. That gave me time to think.

"I always felt I would suit non-league football because the training is not so intensive."

He said it was a difficult time but is grateful for the support his family gave him. "I was a bit isolated in Sheffield, particularly with what I had to deal with. It has helped that I am now back home again."

Billington, who trained with Conference side Nuneaton Borough in the summer, is looking forward to his new challenge with City, though he is taking nothing for granted.

"I'm just going to take it a step at a time. I am going to try to stay local and see what happens. I'm really looking forward to it," he added.