In this episode we are joined by former Blackpool defender Peter Clarke- who spent spells at Bloomfield Road.
The 42-year-old discusses the good and the bad from his time with the Seasiders, his experiences with other clubs, and why he's still passionate about playing.
The 42-year-old discusses the good and the bad from his time with the Seasiders, his experiences with other clubs, and why he's still passionate about playing.
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00:00 Hello and welcome to the Football First podcast, a show all about memories of a beautiful game.
00:04 In this episode, I'm joined by Peter Clarke. So, first of all, how are you?
00:09 I'm good, thank you. Great to be on here with you. How are you?
00:13 Yeah, I'm super, thanks mate.
00:15 Brilliant.
00:17 So, yeah, first of all, you've just completed another season, your first campaign with Warrington.
00:22 So, how are things in National League North?
00:25 I've really enjoyed it, to be honest with you. Obviously, Warrington's a family club, I suppose,
00:34 and a football club in a more rugby-orientated town.
00:39 But, you know, there's a couple of clubs there in Warrington and, you know, everyone made me feel so welcome.
00:49 I really enjoy playing for them. It's obviously slightly different, you know, as Warrington,
00:56 we train twice a week in an evening and then have the games over the weekend.
01:01 But it's good. I really enjoy it. Good group of players, good group of management staff and everyone cares about the place.
01:11 Yeah, you mentioned obviously being a rugby town kind of thing, different clubs knocking about.
01:15 So, is it like going somewhere that when you're used to football hotbeds, going into somewhere different,
01:19 maybe a smaller fan base and things like that? Well, a passionate one, of course.
01:24 Yeah, they are. It is a passionate fan base. And as I mentioned, I think it's primarily a rugby town.
01:31 But having said that, I think Warrington, with its junior football leagues,
01:35 it's got the biggest junior league section outside of London and the whole country.
01:42 So, there is certainly a desire for football and a love of football in the town.
01:51 I signed just over 12, well, just shired 12 months ago, sorry.
01:57 And the players that have been there previously have done fantastic.
02:00 They got promoted out of the Northern Premier League and the support in the town was on the up.
02:08 And I think through the course of the campaign, we've done well.
02:15 And the support has continued to be there. And now we're getting some really, I think for the level,
02:24 some really good gates and the people are invested. People of the town are invested in the football club as well.
02:32 Yeah, doesn't it feel extra special when you're at a team like Warrington and you get in full houses,
02:37 you get in packed crowds, does it feel a bit more, I don't know, like an extra special feel to it?
02:43 For me personally, I've been fortunate enough to play in front of big crowds, packed stadiums.
02:50 But playing at Warrington with, like you say, lots of fans there, real positive support behind the group,
03:00 it is special. And I think the people that come and watch are aware of the journey
03:06 that the club has been through and they're fully invested in the team and the players.
03:13 And, obviously, slightly differently to full-time and EFL clubs, fans are quite close to the pitch.
03:21 So it does give that real sense of atmosphere around the game.
03:29 Well, I'm sure we'll come back to Warrington in this podcast, but we're getting to your football first now.
03:34 The best place to start usually is, what's your first memory of a sport?
03:37 What stands out to you when you think back to being a youngster?
03:41 Going back to being first football in memories, I suppose.
03:46 My dad had been involved in football and on Friday evening he used to help my uncle take the team that his boys played in.
03:56 They were a bit older than myself, one was six years and the other was nine or ten years older.
04:05 So they'd train at an indoor facility, play five-a-side, do their bit of St Bob's, and I'd go down with my dad and watch them.
04:15 Probably at the time I'd have been three or four.
04:18 There'd be odd times where I was able to join in a little bit and they'd all look after me.
04:25 That's probably my first football in memory, to be perfectly honest.
04:30 Do you remember the first time you played a spot on the team and what that was like?
04:35 Yes, I think I got to about six.
04:39 I got the bug, I suppose. I was about six years old, maybe just coming on to seven.
04:49 I said, "I want to play on a team." So, okay, my dad went and looked.
04:56 There were no teams for six or seven-year-olds in that time.
05:01 Now they have to write down to the babies at four and five and what have you.
05:06 But going back, I think the first age groups and such were under nines.
05:12 So, my dad spoke to someone he knew and they knew of a team that had an under nine.
05:22 The question, I suppose, was asked, "Can you play?"
05:26 I would bring him down to training.
05:28 So, I started going to training with a group, a big group.
05:33 I think I probably had been about seven when I played my first competitive sort of game in the under nines.
05:43 In those days, it wasn't like five-a-side or seven-a-side.
05:48 It was 11-a-side and you were on a slightly smaller pitch,
05:53 slightly smaller goals than what the adults would be playing on.
05:58 But I loved it. So, that's the first memories of playing in a team.
06:07 As a youngster, do you think, "I'm playing with older lads, I must be half decent here to compete with these"?
06:14 No, as a kid, I never gave that a thought. It was just playing footy.
06:20 I loved it, I enjoyed doing it. So, that never really crossed my mind, to be honest with you.
06:28 Where were you playing early on? What was your position?
06:32 So, initially, I played as a right winger, probably because I was younger.
06:43 I was a little skinny kid that probably couldn't play in the middle of the pitch because I got kicked all over the place.
06:50 I think I was a right winger, but through my grass roots, formative years and even younger years,
07:02 in terms of being in the centre of excellence, I think I played everywhere at some point.
07:08 And for me, looking back, that was great because it gave you an understanding of what was required in different positions.
07:17 How did you eventually settle in defence? How did that come about and you think, "Yeah, this is me now"?
07:23 Like I say, I played in various positions. Grass roots team, then I ended up playing in midfield,
07:35 played as a striker, was asked to go to Everton, to their centre of excellence, on a trial basis.
07:47 They thought I must have done all right and was then asked to stay the following year at the centre of excellence.
07:56 And like I say, probably between 13 and 16, I played in a number of positions.
08:04 Probably in that time, more as a striker or a central midfield player.
08:10 Then I got to about 16 and there were the one or two injuries, things like that.
08:19 Not really any conversation, "Name the team and, Clarke, you're at centre-back".
08:24 "All right, okay". And then from that point onwards, I guess about 16, I only ventured further forward,
08:38 more as a rarity than the norm. So it was kind of, I don't know whether I settled on being a centre-back
08:46 or whether I settled on it or it was settled upon me.
08:54 But you know what, having said what I've said, I don't know whether I would have had the career longevity,
09:05 i.e. still playing up until the end of last season, had I played in a different position.
09:14 When you were younger, do you remember your first pair of boots?
09:18 Obviously it's a big thing for every young lad to get that first pair, so what was yours?
09:23 Yeah, I had a pair of, and you know what, my mum's still got them.
09:28 I had a pair of Meitner Mustangs and I've got a tattoo on my leg of them.
09:34 From below my knee down to my ankle, I've got a tattoo.
09:39 And there's the twin towers of Wembley. There's a picture of me looking down into Wembley.
09:47 There's a number 10 on my back. So my favourite player as a kid was John Barnes.
09:56 Before names and numbers could be printed on shirts and all that sort of thing, my mum got some felt and stitched it on.
10:06 So yeah, a picture of me looking down there. The football I had, all the leather had come off because you play on the street or in the yard or against the wall, so all the leather ended up coming off.
10:18 So I've got that on there and the first pair of boots that I ever had.
10:22 You mentioned John Barnes, so I'm guessing that would have been your first kit, a Liverpool kit?
10:27 It was, yeah. Red Liverpool kit with, I think it was Candy with the sponsor across the front.
10:36 What made John Barnes stand out to you in particular? There were a few good players around that time.
10:41 Yeah, there certainly was. I suppose he excited me. He was a winger, he was so good with the ball, he took people on, he scored goals, he assisted.
10:54 I just fell in love with the way he played, I suppose.
11:03 Can you remember the first match you went to, would that have been at Anfield?
11:06 I can't remember the first match I went to, to be honest with you.
11:10 My dad had played semi-pro and still had contacts within football, so being able to go to Anfield as a kid, now it's a rarity.
11:25 But he had some friends that were in the game and at the time one of them was manager at Chester City.
11:39 So I would hazard a guess that it might have been a game at Chester at their old ground, which was Seeland Road, which is now a shopping centre.
11:49 But I do have memories of going to the Diva Stadium as a kid, watching football there.
11:57 Did you go back for a visit with Warrington then this year and obviously explore the area again?
12:03 Yeah, we did. Played Chester on Boxing Day, it was. Brought back one or two memories.
12:09 So you mentioned being a Liverpool fan, but your footballing career started at Everton.
12:14 What was it like being a Red, going into the home of the Blues?
12:19 I think probably over the course of time there's been plenty of Everton fans played for Liverpool and people I suppose knew that.
12:34 Looking back I think that was just the way it was.
12:42 I certainly didn't make it known that I was a Liverpool fan when I was in the Centre of Excellence at Everton.
12:49 Having said I was a Liverpool fan, I always wanted the best for Everton.
12:57 I always wanted them to do well.
13:00 Obviously the last few years have been really testing for Everton as a football club.
13:08 I have a huge amount of gratitude to the football club and the people that were there.
13:18 The fact that they've been able to secure their Premier League safety, even with the points deduction, I'm delighted.
13:28 How quickly does that mindset change from being a Liverpool fan to being an Everton player?
13:34 You sort of have to wish Everton well, but how quickly does that happen?
13:38 I don't know.
13:40 Looking back, you weren't in every day as some of these young players are in academies now.
13:48 You were in twice a week to train and you'd play at a weekend.
13:55 The way I was treated as an individual by the people there, I suppose they made it very easy.
14:04 You're treated well and you're treated as the way you are treated.
14:12 Knowing that they all wanted the best for Everton, it kind of came second nature to myself.
14:18 How much did that club help you in your career?
14:21 How much of a base did they give you to go on and do what you did?
14:25 A massive, massive amount.
14:27 I look at players going back to when I was a YTS.
14:33 I look at young players now.
14:35 I think that Everton gave meself and other players around my age,
14:42 within the centre of excellence as it was, or within the youth team,
14:49 or those that perhaps played in the reserves.
14:52 I think Everton gave young players the tools and the wherewithal to go and have a career,
15:00 whether that be at Everton or elsewhere.
15:05 I think sometimes clubs are providing their players with the wherewithal to play in their first team,
15:12 which is obviously the primary aim,
15:14 but not necessarily giving them all the tools that they need to go and have a football league career.
15:19 So I will forever be grateful to Everton Football Club for that.
15:25 During your time there, you got selected for England U21s.
15:30 How did that benefit you? Was that a nice experience?
15:34 There would have been a few notable names around that squad at that time as well.
15:37 Yes, I played a few times for England U21s, which was amazing.
15:46 I played through the various youth age groups up until that point.
15:52 The U21s, that's one step away from the full squad.
15:59 I feel very fortunate.
16:01 The footballs provided me the opportunity to travel to some countries I would never have been able to,
16:09 or perhaps even thought of.
16:11 To play for England U21s was fantastic.
16:15 As you say, there were some players in the squad that I played with that I've had real notable top-end careers.
16:26 Who was the standout?
16:30 Some good players.
16:32 Tackling-wise, it was Franny Jeffers, Shoulder-Army Obi, Jermaine Defoe, probably.
16:38 Up there.
16:39 Probably the standout at that time would have been Joe Cole.
16:43 Went on various honours in the game with Chelsea and represented England on,
16:52 I'm sure, in excess of 50 occasions played at World Cups, etc.
16:59 During your time at Goodison, you went on a few loan moves.
17:02 Let's touch upon your time with Blackpool.
17:05 What are your first impressions of the club and Bloomfield Road in general?
17:08 The opportunity arose to go out on loan.
17:11 Blackpool wanted to take it on loan.
17:14 The manager at the time was Steve McMahon.
17:17 Being a Liverpool fan, I was well aware of him and the way he played.
17:23 I wanted to go to Blackpool.
17:27 At the time, the ground was partway through being redeveloped,
17:33 so there was no stand where the hotel is.
17:39 No stand down one side.
17:42 It was slightly different to how it looks now.
17:45 I enjoyed it.
17:48 It was good.
17:49 Some good lads.
17:52 At the time that I was there on loan, we were doing quite well.
17:56 Decently placed in the league.
17:58 Like I say, I really enjoyed my initial loan period at the club.
18:03 Was you always keen on returning on a permanent basis?
18:07 Obviously, that happened down the line,
18:08 but were you always thinking this could be somewhere I could be based?
18:12 Yes. Like you say, I'd been at the club.
18:16 I'd integrated with the players, I knew the staff.
18:22 Myself and Keith were called back at the end of that loan spell.
18:28 Keith virtually turned straight round and went back to Blackpool.
18:32 He was an amazing player and an amazing servant for the club.
18:39 They wanted me to stay there.
18:42 It was a little bit frustrating because I could have been playing
18:48 regular football with Blackpool, instead of which I was not playing
18:53 regular football at Everton.
18:55 It was intermittent.
18:57 So it was a bit frustrating.
19:00 But I suppose in the grand scheme of things,
19:04 that happens with players and young players.
19:08 Well, you did go on to return.
19:10 During that time, you captained the club and you picked up several awards as well.
19:14 Was that a special time in your career?
19:16 Yes, it was.
19:18 Yes, I loved every second of being at Blackpool.
19:20 Like you say, I signed permanently.
19:24 Colin Andrews was the manager.
19:26 We perhaps weren't as highly placed as we would have liked to have been,
19:33 or as successful as we would have liked to have been.
19:37 But I thoroughly enjoyed my football.
19:39 Winning one or two personal trophies, awards, is always nice.
19:47 Were you always a natural leader?
19:50 Because you stepped up to that role.
19:52 Was that a natural thing for you or did it develop?
19:55 I don't know.
19:57 I look now at young players, kids,
20:00 and you can perhaps pick out individuals that are leaders.
20:07 I suppose that's with the benefit of experience and knowledge.
20:15 Looking back, did I think that?
20:17 I can't say I did.
20:19 But I was always someone who was a talker on the pitch
20:25 and would always demand of others.
20:29 But I wouldn't demand anything of them, I wouldn't ask of myself.
20:34 So I don't know, possibly.
20:36 I'll let others be the judge of that, though.
20:39 Obviously, from your time and then five years onwards,
20:44 Blackpool went on quite the journey.
20:45 Simon Grayson was initially manager for a period,
20:48 then obviously led on to the Ian Holloway era.
20:50 Could you tell that club was going to go up the leads
20:54 or was it a bit of a surprise in the direction it was going?
20:57 To be perfectly honest, it was a little bit of a surprise.
21:04 It was a period of a few years where the club had struggled a little bit
21:09 and wasn't too well placed in the league.
21:11 But obviously, things changed around a little bit.
21:17 And like you say, they did progress up the table and then the divisions,
21:22 which is obviously great for the people of the town and the supporters.
21:30 There were always, obviously, ownership problems around Blackpool for a long period.
21:35 As players, did you pick up on that or did you have to put that to the back of your mind?
21:40 Yes, you were aware of things that were going on,
21:44 but you weren't heavily involved in it.
21:49 Yes, you were aware of it, but I think that was something the managers,
21:55 the coaching staff at that time, had to deal with more than the players, shall we say.
22:01 Did it make your job harder in any way? Or, like you say, the manager sort of shields you?
22:07 In that initial time when I was there,
22:11 no, I wouldn't say it did make our job as players any harder.
22:20 But then when I returned a couple of years later,
22:25 as a more experienced person and player, you are more aware
22:31 and it does create a really challenging environment.
22:36 After your first stint with Blackpool, you made a move to Southend,
22:40 and probably one of your standout moments might have been at Equaliser against Chelsea in the FA Cup.
22:46 How good was that? And obviously there's talks of replays being scrapped from next season onwards.
22:51 When you've been involved in a moment that's created a replay and created such a big moment for a club,
22:57 how disappointing is that news?
22:59 Looking at the decision that's been made, part of me can understand it,
23:03 with the possibility of the extra games being fitted into the footballing calendar.
23:14 But at the same time, the benefit it can have for the football club is massive,
23:19 in terms of revenue and things like that.
23:22 It can help a football club, a League One or Two football club,
23:30 over a period of maybe two or three or four years,
23:34 the benefits of a replay and some extra television money and gate receipts and things like that.
23:40 So, I understand some of the reasons for it, in terms of managing fixed-fee congestion,
23:48 but then at the same time, for a player in League One or League Two,
23:52 they perhaps draw a game against one of the elite clubs,
23:58 but then they don't get the opportunity to go and play at an Anfield or an Old Trafford or the Etihad or whatever.
24:09 So, it's frustrating, shall we say.
24:14 Moving on to another one of your clubs, Huddersfield, of course you experienced promotion via playoffs,
24:21 so how special is that kind of thing, going up in that manner?
24:26 Any player that's been promoted, they'll tell you it's brilliant, and it certainly is.
24:34 For me, when I was in the yard or on the street playing footy, wherever I was playing footy,
24:41 if you're commentating on yourself, I was always in the FA Cup Final.
24:47 The FA Cup Final day was always a great day.
24:51 It wasn't the FA Cup Final, of course, but to play at Wembley in a final,
24:57 to captain a team in a final and to win and lift the trophy,
25:04 the stuff that you kind of dreamed of as a kid.
25:08 So, it was fantastic. I look back on it with a huge amount of fondness.
25:15 When I think about it, it generally puts a smile on my face.
25:22 You've got the tattoo of the Wembley Twin Towers, but that arch must be a nice thing to think about as well.
25:28 Yes, like you say, in my formative years it was the Twin Towers,
25:34 but the stadium itself now is incredible.
25:39 So, brilliant to play there and to win there is an amazing feeling.
25:47 Of course, that season you played alongside someone who smashed goals,
25:53 even now Jordan Rhodes, he's become a popular figure at Blackpool.
25:58 How good is he?
26:01 Jordan's a brilliant, he's a fantastic goal-scorer.
26:06 He's an individual who needs very little opportunity to score,
26:15 and like you say, through the course of that promotion season, his goals were incredible.
26:21 As you mentioned, he's carried that on throughout his career.
26:27 I know he returned to Huddersfield due to injury,
26:33 but obviously during his long spell he was still scoring goals
26:39 and getting in the same positions doing what he does across at Blackpool.
26:45 Is he the type of striker that it doesn't matter how old he is, so to speak,
26:50 the position he gets in, the instinct he's got, just makes him deadly always at a certain level?
26:56 Yes, I think so.
26:58 Goal-scorers, they know where the goal is.
27:02 That never changes.
27:04 He knows the positions to get into to score goals.
27:08 Yes, he's going to rely on a certain amount of service to have those opportunities,
27:16 but once those opportunities arise, there's not many you can think of that have got the ability
27:27 and have had the longevity that Jordan has.
27:30 He's a free agent, but would he be an asset to anyone who could capture his signature?
27:37 I think so.
27:39 I have no doubt that Jordan will be an asset to any football club that wants to sign him.
27:48 So, whether that's Blackpool or not, I don't know.
27:54 I think you'll perhaps have to knock on Critchie's door to find that out.
27:58 Are you glad you weren't defending against him in that Huddersfield season?
28:02 Yes, I'm definitely glad he was on my team.
28:06 If you play against players that are really in form, you do want to test yourself,
28:18 but he was unbelievable that season.
28:21 You returned to Blackpool a few years after that promotion with Huddersfield.
28:26 Of course, it was a difficult season.
28:28 You mentioned that there was more of a whir of things going on then.
28:31 How hard was that?
28:33 It was difficult, there's no denying it.
28:37 The make-up of the squad, the timing of the squad being built,
28:42 was not helpful or conducive to having a really positive season.
28:50 There was a distinct lack of players at the beginning of the pre-season,
28:59 and they were signed intermittently through the course of that pre-season.
29:04 It was difficult to build cohesion.
29:06 If I remember rightly, there was in excess of 50 players actually performed in the first team that season.
29:14 If you're changing your team that much, it's rarely going to work out well.
29:26 There were certainly poor relations between the hierarchy and the fans,
29:33 and difficult relations between the hierarchy and the management.
29:38 As a more experienced player, you're aware of that.
29:42 Obviously, at times, the fans voiced their opinion,
29:49 and they're well within the rights to do so.
29:53 Did the difficulties in that second permanent spell affect the way you look back on your time at Blackpool as a whole,
30:00 or do you just focus on the positives of that initial stint?
30:04 I still look back on my time at the club with a huge amount of fondness.
30:10 Was it the most enjoyable part of my career?
30:14 No.
30:16 Did it help me as a player or as an individual?
30:20 Yes, it probably did.
30:23 I always try to look for the positive aspect of circumstances.
30:31 Even though it was a challenging time, I still look as best as I can to find the positive from any given situation I find myself in.
30:43 Would you have liked to have done more time at second stint, or was that enough to go after that?
30:52 I always enjoyed my time at Blackpool.
30:56 Although the club were relegated out of the Championship,
31:04 there was a huge part of me that still wanted to be there.
31:09 Ultimately, that decision wasn't mine.
31:11 I was released at the end of that season.
31:18 From a personal point of view, ideally I would have liked to have stayed and be part of rebuilding.
31:29 But again, like I mentioned, that decision wasn't mine.
31:34 Were decisions like that communicated? Was it an open conversation?
31:44 Those situations vary from club to club and from different staff at whatever club it may be.
31:55 But there was a real open and honest conversation with myself and the manager and staff.
32:10 It was the opinion of one individual to myself.
32:16 To be fair, the manager at the time was Lee Clark, who signed for Huddersfield.
32:24 I played for him for a good number of years there.
32:28 And obviously, the second half of that season at Blackpool.
32:34 So there was certainly no animosity or anything like that.
32:39 I'm still in touch with him now.
32:41 As I say, I would have liked to have stayed.
32:48 But when one door closes, I suppose, it gives you another opportunity elsewhere.
32:54 Another door opens and you then have to go and move on from there.
33:00 Following that second spell with Blackpool, you've represented multiple clubs since then.
33:08 You showed your worth at a lot of them.
33:10 You played overseas at Bury and Oldham and you were in Team of the Year at Trammere.
33:14 How good does it feel when you get those personal accolades like you did in the early days at Blackpool?
33:21 Obviously, it's nice.
33:25 Always nice to receive those personal accolades.
33:30 But at the same time, that wouldn't be possible without the teammates that you've got around you.
33:37 So, yes, it is nice.
33:39 But I'm also well aware that it's not all down to me.
33:42 I'm grateful for the players I've played with across the time.
33:46 It must be a good feeling to get that recognition from various different clubs as well.
33:51 Yes, it is. It's nice.
33:53 Hopefully, it means that the way you play and the work you're doing is appreciated.
34:04 You're doing something right, I suppose.
34:07 Your football league career finished with Walsall.
34:11 Did you know your time in the Football League was up then?
34:15 Or do you think you had a bit more in the tank?
34:17 Yes. I injured my shoulder at Walsall.
34:24 The specialist said, "You're probably going to need an operation," etc.
34:34 The rehabilitation from it was about five or six months.
34:37 I was like, "My time of life, that's not too good."
34:41 I actually didn't have the operation.
34:47 The more I did, the better it felt.
34:49 But it really made me aware.
34:54 You need to make real inroads into what's next.
35:02 Which I did.
35:03 I was ultimately offered a job with the PFA after going through an interview process.
35:11 I applied for an interview process, etc.
35:14 I believe I could have continued playing in the Football League.
35:19 My birth certificate was no longer helping me, shall we say.
35:26 Contracts would have been a year at the most.
35:29 So every six or twelve months, you're always thinking, "What next?"
35:35 I made a decision that I felt was better for the long run, shall we say.
35:46 I am enjoying the job.
35:52 It's different.
35:56 It takes a little bit of getting used to, I suppose, after 25 years of doing one thing and nothing but that.
36:05 I came to a decision that I believe, at the time, I felt it was the right one.
36:14 I also now do still believe that it was the correct decision.
36:18 Obviously, you were all with the PFA.
36:21 Was it important for you to stay involved in football?
36:24 Did that stand out to you as something that suited your skill set?
36:28 Football was my first love.
36:35 I've got to be careful that no-one hears me say that, especially not my missus.
36:39 No, my family are my greatest love, but football will always have been my first love.
36:46 Being able to do something within the football environment is something that was beneficial to myself.
36:56 Former footballers have loads of transferable skills, but for me personally, still being involved is great.
37:07 It's something I enjoy.
37:10 Had you been looking at something like that, or did your advert come out and you thought, "This is the next step"?
37:18 I'd looked at various different things.
37:21 I applied for other things that perhaps I had no intention of going for,
37:29 and perhaps were things that were not necessarily what I wanted to do.
37:36 I needed to get to the stage where I needed to write cover letters, I needed to write a CV,
37:42 I needed to experience interview processes.
37:46 It was a process.
37:54 When I saw the advert for the job I'm in, it was something that I thought, "Ooh, yeah, I like the look of that."
38:05 That's something I could see myself doing.
38:07 There's not too many cover letters when it comes to joining different football teams.
38:11 You don't post it off to different clubs, do you?
38:14 No, in terms of football and employment opportunities, certainly for players,
38:24 it's not a case of necessarily having to put in a CV or a cover letter or whatever.
38:33 They were things that I needed to do and learn and what have you.
38:38 I decided to take those steps to be able to go through those processes.
38:47 Well, you did continue playing as well. We'll go back to where we started, Warrington.
38:53 What attracted you to that club?
38:55 You know what?
38:59 When you get to this point in time, I never know whether to call the season that's just finished last season or the one before.
39:07 At the end of my contract at Walsall, I'd accepted the job and I'd made the decision that I was done.
39:21 Obviously, I'm not going to play full-time professionally anymore.
39:28 I thought, "Right, OK, that's it, done."
39:32 I was of that mind that I was done, I wasn't going to play.
39:37 I might have played maybe some vexed football with my mates or enjoyed the possible opportunities of charity games and things like that.
39:46 I was watching my lad play in a tournament and the manager from Warrington was there as well.
39:57 The manager is someone I've known for a long time. He was a YT at Preston with my best mate.
40:04 I've known him for a long time.
40:06 He was, "What are you going to do? Why are you asking me loads of questions?"
40:12 I was like, "I'll start the job. Sometimes we've got meetings down south, I might not be able to train."
40:18 He was like, "That was OK."
40:21 So, every reason I was giving him that I couldn't really commit, he was like, "No, we can work around that."
40:28 Obviously, we were watching our boys play.
40:32 He said, "I'm going on holiday tomorrow. Will you meet me for a coffee or whatever when I get back?"
40:39 I was like, just out of respect because of the time I'd known him and I didn't want to be dismissive of the situation.
40:48 I said, "Yeah, I will. I'll meet with you." I did.
40:52 In the meantime, my wife was also saying, "Are you sure you should just go cold turkey as such?"
41:02 I was like, "Yeah, I'm fine."
41:06 Her words were, "It might be better that you wean off your drug of choice slowly rather than going cold turkey."
41:15 Anyway, I met with the manager, had a good chat and I decided to sign and play for Warrington.
41:25 So, to the manager and to my wife, I am very, very grateful.
41:31 Was it pure love of football stuff throughout the season?
41:35 Did you feel a bit like a kid again, just being out there, about maybe the same pressures as that comes with VFL?
41:42 Yeah, don't get me wrong. I am still as competitive as I ever was. I still want to win every time I'm out there.
41:50 But yeah, the way you describe it, I have described it that way to other people. It's like being a kid again.
41:58 Not that I didn't enjoy my football or time throughout my career. I've loved every second of it and feel eternally grateful.
42:11 But yeah, there is slightly less pressure. You're working and you're doing other things, so your focus is not fully, as a professional's will and should be, on just all the time.
42:28 Same again, same again. You do have other aspects to your life, your job and the football is extra.
42:37 Like I say, I still want to win every time I cross that white line. But yeah, I do enjoy my playing.
42:51 To be honest with you, for former professional players, I think it is a good way of transitioning away from that full-time environment.
43:07 I certainly would recommend it. Whether that's for everyone, I don't know. Sometimes people, former players, they don't want to play at that level.
43:24 They only see themselves as a player at a certain level. But as I said earlier, I love playing footy. Being out there and competing is great.
43:39 It's just, like you say, probably because it is part-time, there is a slightly lesser element of pressure, shall we say.
43:53 You've played a lot of games. Are you planning to go again for another season at the age of 42?
43:58 Yeah, I've done alright in terms of a number of games. But I got to the end of the season and I was asked.
44:10 All being well, I shall get the boots on again next season and carry on playing for another year.
44:22 Do you have an age in mind where you think you could stop or you're thinking at the moment, "Let's see how many years it comes and I'm feeling good. I don't want to go cold turkey just yet. This is my new addiction."
44:34 Yeah, I still feel good and I still enjoy being out there at this moment in time. I've not set an age or anything like that.
44:51 But as I still feel good, as I still enjoy it, then there is part of me that goes, "Yeah, why not?"
45:01 Had a hunger to run to a pushing forward play-off for a long time, obviously finish mid-table in the end, but must be a hunger to finish in that top end of the table in National League North?
45:11 Yeah, of course. Whatever I, anyone is doing in terms of work or in terms of football, I think most people have got to drive that.
45:25 They want to be the best they can be. They want to be as successful as they can be, whatever that looks like.
45:31 Next season, yeah, it would be great to get a little bit further up the league and possibly get in those play-off places with a view to pushing on again.
45:46 There will be lots of other people and lots of other clubs saying the same thing. So it's not a given and it's something that's got to be worked for.
45:53 But it would certainly be Deren, certainly in the manager and his staff's minds and also the players at Warrington as well.
46:06 Well, we've come to the end of the podcast, but there's one question we always finish with and that's, if you could change any of your football fists, anything that we've discussed, what would it be?
46:17 Do I have to change?
46:20 Do you want to keep everything the same?
46:25 I think, no, I'm going to say I'm happy with my lot. I wouldn't change anything.
46:36 Has every decision I've ever made been the right one? No, possibly not.
46:46 As I mentioned before, I always try to look for a positive aspect on things. So even if there are decisions that I've made that have not worked out exactly as I would have liked,
47:04 it's allowed me the opportunity to learn from those decisions and then perhaps make better ones in the future.
47:12 So, no, as that little kid, six, seven, eight years of age, if I'd been offered the career that I have had and the experiences that I have had, I'd have snapped someone's hand off.
47:36 So, no, I'd rather look back on things with a huge amount of fondness and a little bit of pride than thinking and wishing 'what if'.
47:49 Well, thank you very much for joining me and good luck next season. I hope you see your play in for many more times.
47:56 That's brilliant. Thank you very much. It's been a pleasure. Thanks for having me.
48:00 - Far better.