'I've learnt to carry on day-to-day:' Blackpool's Jake Daniels discusses blocking out hate and receiving support from an Olympian

The 19-year-old striker, who is currently on loan with Bradford Park Avenue, states he’s learnt to block out any hate in order to focus on the positives.

Speaking to Utilita, Daniels explained the impact coming out had on him, as he became the first openly gay English professional footballer in over 30 years.

"It was a struggle at the start, especially before I came out, but now it’s just so much better; it’s happiness every single day,” he said.

"I didn’t know what the reaction was going to be, but it’s been accepted and that’s all I could’ve asked for. No one in my lifetime had done it before so it was going into the unknown. My parents didn’t know, so I had to tell them, then it was my teammates, and then it was the fans.

"Some people were negative about it, and I still get that now, but I’ve learnt to forget about what they say and carry on day-to-day. It was mainly on social media and people hiding behind a screen.

"When I was accepted by people, the main thing was having people’s mothers and fathers messaging me saying their kids had just gone downstairs and told them they were gay. That was an amazing feeling because my mum was left in the dark when I was going through some mental troubles, so when I told her it was a massive relief.

“I never really think about it when I’m with my teammates, it just disappears, which was the same before I came out, and that’s how it should be. They help me every single day and we all push each other on.”

After coming out, Daniels admits getting support from a well-known figure in British sport proved beneficial.

"One massive person that helped me was Tom Daly- he was one of the biggest role models in sport, so it was easy to speak to him about different things,” he added.

"It’s good that we’ve got more people coming out in different sports to have that group that can push it further. Football can be so much better with inclusivity but there has been a massive change and there’s more positives.”