Adam Gemili’s footballing career may never have hit the same heights as his track success but he thinks it has played a big part in his achievements.

The British sprinter will be a key figure in the Great Britain squad travelling to Australia for the 2018 Commonwealth Games after winning gold at the World Championships last year.

It could have been a different story for Gemili however, who came through the football academy at Chelsea before moving down the leagues to Dagenham and later Thurrock in the Isthmian League.

He made the switch to full-time athletics in 2012, but he believes the traits he learned in football have given him the edge on the track, particularly when it comes to the 4x100m relay, in which he won gold with CJ Ujah, Danny Talbot and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake.

Adam Gemili believes superior teamwork helped Great Britain win gold in the 4x100m relay last year
Adam Gemili believes superior teamwork helped Great Britain win gold in the 4x100m relay last year (Martin Rickett/PA)

“I had that football background and that comes in for me with the relay,” he told Press Association Sport. “I think that shows from last season, us becoming world champions was the bond we had together and the belief we have in each other.

“That’s how you win a relay.

“Everyone on the start line is talented and everyone can run fast, but it’s the belief and trust in each other that you can do the job and the faith in each other.

“Thankfully we were good enough on the night to beat the other teams.

“You can learn a lot from football and footballers can learn a lot from athletes.”

The relationship between football and athletics does not stop there, and a chance meeting with Tottenham’s Mauricio Pochettino and Harry Kane provided Gemili with the chance to pass some secrets over the to Premier League side.

“We were out in Barcelona and Spurs were out there because they had no game that week,” the 24-year-old said ahead of his appearance at the Glasgow Indoor Grand Prix on Sunday. “My coach knows Pochettino and he came down the day before and said he might bring an athlete down to have a look.

“The next day Harry Kane came down and I was losing my head!

“They were watching our session and doing our drills and how we do them, because they were taking that into their training.

“I know Nike want me to go into the club and do some speed sessions with the guys which would be cool. 

Adam Gemili, far left, is hoping to be more competitive on a more consistent basis

Adam Gemili, far left, is hoping to be more competitive on a more consistent basis (Mike Egerton/PA)

“It’s nice to see other sports take an interest in track, because it translates into so many different things and is just sport at its purest.”

On his own form, Gemili is looking to fine tune parts of his technique ahead of the trip to the Gold Coast in April and admits there is a lot of improvement still to be done.

He said: “What I’m looking for is a bit more consistency in running, and looking to be more competitive at the high level.

“I’m pretty good when it comes to championships but I do make a lot of mistakes outside the championships in individual races, which I’m happy to do but if I can just tweak a few things and try to run a bit faster then I’ll be happy.

“We have the Commonwealth Games and the European Championships and I want to go to both of those and go for medals.”