Brighton midfielder Dale Stephens says he valued Sunday football when growing up.

As a 15-year-old, he was still playing Saturday and Sunday division football - but the midfielder says those experiences helped shape his career.

"It was tough but a good learning curve," Stephens told Sky Sports. "I remember playing in Bolton with my step-dad and all of his friends on a Thursday evening, I was only 15 or 16 then playing with fully grown men and I feel like I learnt my trade more in that respect than actually coming through a professional academy like most people do now.

"I got invited for a trial match at Bury eventually. There were 24 or 25 players and you got one game. Luckily, I scored twice from centre mid as well which is unusual for me.

"I still had the goalscoring instinct then, I think I've lost it over the years. It's an interesting story, my Sunday league manger requested a trail, then I played a trial match - which wasn't even a proper trial - and then I got offered a six-week trial to do the Youth Training Scheme and two-year scholarship at Bury so I did that and then finally got a professional contract."