Chris is joined by former Stranraer and East Kilbride player Sean Winter to discuss both clubs chances in the upcoming League 2 Playoff. Also, Sean’s own experience in the Playoffs, career with both clubs. and former teammates.
#officialcatchup #slfl
hello and welcome to the official catchup today is a very special episode we’re going to be discussing the league two playoff between EO bride and stren Rin joining me today a man that knows both clubs very well five years at sh ra six years at Eco bride Sean winter of course how you doing Sean I’m fantastic thanks very much for for having me on and um allowing me a we chance to to have a look back at next situations and and give you my opinion on um certain things that are happening just now so appreciate you yeah obviously first person that sort of comes to mind when it comes you know to the both clubs I guess um there’s there’s obviously been a few players that have played for both Esco Bri and Str a few that you know about and uh we’ll probably we can touch on a few names there as well but h i probably the hardest question right at the start Sean is it a we bit of a bit sweet feeling one obviously you know you made it your goal to get your local team up and unfortunately it didn’t happen for you at EO bride in terms of getting the EK up to to League two I wasn’t expecting to be waiting four years you know later yeah and on the the other hand obviously you’ve got kind of foot in the other court as well with withar a team that you you also are kind of close with and obviously you’re an icon at both clubs or a legend at both clubs as well so it’s is it a bit sweet feeling yeah yeah well I wouldn’t have probably throw the the the word legend about to be fair but I done pretty well and I had good good careers at both clubs um for me you know like the joury started e it was literally after a last um probably if I’m totally honest didn’t leave in the best of terms with either CL um I didn’t want to leave at the time I’ve said that a few times when I’ve kind of done these things and um it was wasn’t it was taken out with my hands um and I was released from Shar and um I had full intentions of staying there for as long as um I could but um it happened and then it opened the door for ES bride and um again I kind of spoke to the owners es bride and I like the idea I like the fact that they were looking for local players uh players that kind of um had something to do with the town and and they really wanted to to not just get promoted but get promoted with um a kind of local field get the community involved and all that sort of stuff and I’ve lived bride my whole life so um I really bought into it myself and Barry at the time and and we bought into it and and really wanted to to make it happen and we had absolutely fantastic times at EB um and we really really pushed it close the one I C and beef in the final can always obviously sticks in my throat of you but and it’s uh that was a chance for me anyway um to to to do it obviously just came down to penalties it’s just a lottery and I do think that over the two legs against C and beef we were the better team um and then we we obviously win the league a couple years later again and uh we came up against a better team Cove were just better they were more prepared and were ready um so for me it just that it all kind of fizzled out go bre a we but obviously quicker than I I wanted to again I I I bought the whole idea I wanted to stay there um and it was just a bit of a weird kind of collection of circumstances like Co happened um and literally right at the start of covid um I had my we um my work was absolute Carnage and I just I ended up breaking a bone in my ankle during preseason that year and I missed the first three or four weeks um at uh of the season and and then from there I just struggled to get back in the team and I struggled to kind of get back on track and uh I just wasn’t there a player that could just sit on the bench or it was actually one game in particular where I was left out the squad which I I thought was a real kick in the teeth even though I know I wasn’t fully fit wasn’t 100% kind of ready to play but there was players on the bench that day that for me were young boys who were there’s no way um that they would have came on and impacted a game the way I I know I could have even if I was kind of 75% so that’s kind of for me that was the big turning point and I decided I need to I need to go and play I was getting on and I was struggling to keep my fitness so I wanted to make sure I was playing constantly um and it was a really tough decision but um that was when I decided that I was going to go and join Barry again at St rocks yeah um and the manager and and Paul the owners at EO bride they were like look we want to put you on loan um and that and I was like well what is intentions is that am I going to be on loan to with a you coming back in a month or two and I just got a feeling I just got when I spoke to the manager and that and it just didn’t not I just didn’t didn’t have any plans for me to actually push myself into the team if I get any sort of inclination that he was going to actually want me to go and loan we have you coming back but it was if like just kind of want to the door and I was too kind of proud to to stand for that so I just said look no ST Rock wanted to actually sign me they didn’t want me on loan and I just said you know what um I just don’t get a good feeling and I was a be bit disappointed like they didn’t really kind of go out their way to to say no listen we want you here we want you to stay and that was that was my mind made up soon as that happened I thought nah like that’s it’s the right thing and then after about two or three weeks everything gets shut down H the whole thing get starts so it was a i it was a it was an awkward one but um see a fantastic what six years um playing at e SC Bri um obviously amount of goals I scored and the amount I was involved and everything and I really want today I still do I still want him to do it but it’s a bit of a weird one as you say like between my two kind of main clubs of my my career is would be really kind of devastated for everybody strar and stuff like that well if they if they lose all the kind of History um that they’ve they’ve had and I would be delighted at the same time for SCH for actually doing it it is a very strange one as I say you’re the the main guy I thought of because your history of both both clubs and it’s a lot’s changed since we last talked obviously I told you that I listen to the podcast you know four years ago if you going to if you asked me four year ago um I’d still be speaking to you four years later and still about non leag probably what’s going on sort of thing but A lot’s changed back then you know spfl teams didn’t get relegated to L league as much now it’s kind of common place now um obviously SPF team think what Four Seasons or three or four seasons in AA um it is a really awkward sort of situation for yourselves I appreciate that’s why I asked that question first because when I look at the strar team to me it looks like a league two side you know H you’ve got a Thomas or that we know obviously used to be at BC Glasgow a couple of your former teammates obviously Dylan Forest that you played with cumber Colts Grant Gallagher you know he’s been injured most of the Season he’s obviously been a big big loss experience I don’t know how much time you’ve played with Scott Roberts for a couple of years as well y the gaffer obviously Scott agne similar I think yeah so there’s a few sort of you know faces in there that that you know off and uh what’s it obviously you kind of been on the other side to to L ra you’ve been the the team that I’ve wanted to go up but what’s the general feeling on these two two games are they you know you for example Esco bride you won the L League I take it you’re not totally celebrating that because that’s not the main goal the main goal is spfl it’s hard because for me again like I had I had never won a league y um leagues are really really hard to win as you know like there’s there’s so many different things different factors and it’s hard to actually get over the line and I had never been involved in a team i’ finished second a couple of times with teams and uh won cups and stuff like that which is different but um I when you actually go over the line it is a big achievement and you forget that it gets kind of lost a we bit I think because as soon as you win that leag you’re very you’re not really even celebrating because you’re thinking right the main goal and the goal all along was to take get promotion and then you know you’ve got these two um playoff games you’ve got the one against Del League team um and then you’ve got the one against um bottom of the the league two but so you know it’s going to be tough but I just I don’t know the first time again I think maybe a we bit arrogance I just felt like we were we were ready we were good enough and we we we had players and everything to see us through against Bucky and c and be and and it never happened and um I it’s a kind of weird one you you enjoy winning the league because it is a massive achievement but you feel as if you’ve not really done anything yet and that was I was that’s probably the most devastated I’ve ever felt um we up at C and beef when we lost in penalties um I actually didn’t feel too bad because you kind of already you’ve already fa it and you know they expect against K would just came up against a better team uh and I can accept that because they were they were mes better than us over the two legs and they deserved it and you knew the only thing that I would say is I think that if we’d have played barck in the final we would have won as well so I just think that they were they were gone so it was more C and beef that year against them I know they brought in like H they brought in a new manager like 10 games to go or something like that they spent a bit of money and I think he brought in loan players and stuff like the team that we played in the final of that playoff was not the team that finished bought the league too and it was it was like so you knew you were going to they started a bit like C they started kind of picking up a lot of results towards the end of the season with this this new kind of team that they’ assembled um then they were fighting for their lives um whereas now as you say there’s more teams now that are just once they finish bottom they’re kind of they’re away I mean it’s they kind of get through these playoffs now sh shr’s been a a really funny one for me because when I was looking at sort of the bottom of the League 2 maybe a few months ago I mean I they weren’t even in my thoughts I mean you mentioned Clyde there Clyde strengthened heavily in January I actually thought they’d be pushing you know way ahead out that relegation Z obviously end into the final day Craig obviously former teammate going there I thought it was a class I think he was just back from Australia or something like that but yeah I looked at Cay like well I don’t think he mind me saying but I was messaging Mick about something and I mentioned that to him I’m like I think you’d rather play what maybe Bon rig or Elgen say at the time over over C and uh M it’s it’s a difficult one for League 2 because I suppose you could say the same at the top because obviously I I feel like if Spartans had you know Mark MCN or whatever you know the full season they could have been up there with any even more so than they are obviously they’ve made the playoffs which a great achievement but look at it’s been happening way too much in League 2 where you know they’ve not had the best squads and then suddenly comes January over we near the bottom and then it’s a completely different unit yeah and and that’s thing I think for Shar look we all know Shar is like a kind of isol town it’s miles away from anywhere um it’s really hard to attract players to go to S um obviously the majority when I was there your play your whole Squad pretty much is made up of central belt players um and they have to put out resource to getting you down there um and you train up in um B Paisley and glasgo and stuff you’re training and that so yeah it’s first and R they just don’t have the resource to to strengthen when they need to C you can see like the manager they brought in and then they started sign all sorts of players and they thought for me they just they looked like some like I get similar to what C and be like that first time um they just were like we’re not we’re not going down and we’re just going to put everything they’ve possibly got into staying up um and they done that but then you look at Shar and they they they don’t have the resource they don’t have the money to then just start going you know what we’re in a dog fight here we need to strength him we need to bring in all sorts of players um and it’s it’s a shame is it’s a real shame but it’s just one of the things like they just don’t have um as much his other clubs to to just fire money in and stay up do you feel like there’s any advantage obviously SC the first games at he called Bri and the second games you know exra ra is there any advantage to that you know at all is you know being home first or 100% yeah I I would say so I would say see the the game against when we played Bucky and we played there um and we were lucky to Come Away with a draw actually we we we drew to each scor right at the end um and took a draw back to K Park but for me I think it is a massive psychological advantage having that second game knowing what you need to do um at your place and look at the OU level it’s not like you’re getting thousands and thousands through the gate right so the fans aren a massive Factor like obviously if you’re at celtica Rangers and you’ve got a home game it’s a massive advantage that way fan fan base wise but um it’s just familiarity you obviously used to the surroundings you’re comfortable there you you know you’ve got your whole family and all that coming around and and we knew what we needed to do against Bucky um and then the we the the next TI against Kow and beef it was kind of more even more apparent where we had that home game and see not been able to take advantage of that and then having to got up to cing be the week after and they they did have the whole town behind them there was I would say there was maybe two three, at the game like they were fighting for their lives it was the first time they were kind of really looking like they were going to lose their status and they done everything possibly could to to actually survive so um it was a tough one but again I think we we dealt with the situation when we we never got beat you know what I mean we over the two legs it was one each and we scored the only way goal so if you if that was even s thing we would have went up in no go but we didn’t um he definitely I would say an advantage of their your home game second I would say anyway yeah I mean always car that he SC Bri side um you know for the defensive record they had well for me obviously I don’t look at defense I don’t like Defenders I’m interested in scoring goals in in that so but no that’s as you said it’s a massive thing like if we if we’re keeping the ball out the net because there was a lot of games that were T um especially the the season we we won in we Lo in charge um there was a lot of tight games where we were we were backs against the wall we were really really struggling that g that time we went on the the 30 G winning run um there was games where we should not have won but the fact that we were not conceding many goals we um we kept ourselves in the game and then we always had kind of quality up top even like Ross Mel and stuff like that as well who even with 10 minutes to go if you’re not in a game we’ve got players there that will just score a goal at nothing and and you end up walking away with a win but so important that you we didn’t concede many at all yeah is is that I take it that’s another thing that comes into I always talk about mentality being uh you know a big factor in football because I’ve been asked quite a lot recently from spfl fans you know why why aren’t the former spfl teams challenging and stuff and I think most of the time because if you look at you know Alan Rover did the best defensive record this season K we had a really great Squad Squad on paper um and I always think it’s down to mentality I mean these these teams have probably you know been content in League 2 for for so long to then come up against teams like Esco bride that are going for the lone league and trying to get promotion every season that doesn’t change overnight you have to become a challenger I well exactly like there’s es bra have been trying this for 10 years now they’ve been pushing and trying to get there their their mentality is a case of right we finish top four or five you’re quite happy you’re quite comfortable and like and beef and E St and even baric the lot every every all teams that are coming down they’re probably just thinking right we want to just kind of regroup like have a few seasons where we keep our money tight get or kind of get used to this level and then potentially in a couple of years we’ll give a right good go and we’ll try and get back in when the when the time’s right um whereas you as you say you’ve coming up against all these team that are coming up through the pyramid system that are absolutely desperate never had the chance desperate and they want it more she say the mentality like you just you definitely you’re it’s more of a drive to actually want to achieve something rather than just be content and that’s obviously what’s happening we BR you see I’m quite surprised actually that obviously the last time we won the leag was that game when uh well the the time when we played coov and um we won it against Spartans uh um yeah that’s so you’re talking about 2019 you know what I mean I’m surprised that it’s took this long but like like Co and everything has been a massive Factor on in everything not just like um how teams are performing but players and stuff like for me it happened just everything just happened at the wrong time um obviously like my daughter being born was massive amazing time for me but at the same time it’s so hard work then you mix in with the co you mix in with uh work being absolutely cage because of Co um and then my age you know I mean I was I was kind of 33 34 so I was I wasn’t a spring checken you know what I mean and I needed to make sure that I was keeping myself fit and with all that stuff happening around about me it was just impossible and then I started just becoming more and more unfit and it was it was so hard to to keep up but it’s h i it’s just one of the things but I’m I’m glad I genuinely do I really really hope Esco bride at some point do get there um and I’ve just get kind of mixed feelings this year where I want to see them take the place of strar who gave him my chance and the kind of professional game if you like um and I had so many amazing memories that um and obviously we School bride now even with the owners and stuff like I really want it for them like they’ve put a lot of time effort money everything into trying to do this um and I would like to see him do it yeah uh obviously I’m always going to be supporting the L long League team I think i’ PR shot otherwise but I think the thing with Shar obviously it’s one of the Scotland’s historic clubs you know it’s there’s so much history there as I say I’m kind of still in a we bit of disbelief probably until obviously the the game kicks off on Saturday that they’re in this position I mean they were in previous Seasons I think you could kind of tell who was on the slid Str I think they were towards the bottom you know the previous season too but they weren’t like one of the you know favorites to to be in this position sort of thing and um and there’s probably a wee bit uncertainty I don’t think there’s a lot of people talking about this but obviously they have a a reserve team in the south of Scotland whether that gets affected because of Finance or whatever because they’re no longer in the SFL I have no idea but it is a bit of a sad situation and I know you know CER over Joy think there was a few people that wanted cl to come down In fairness but um it’s it is a sad one obviously and we know ourselves once a team gets relegated they’re probably going to lose what half that Squad um you know to other teams or whatever I don’t know if there’s any sort of relegation release causes or any that sort of stuff I think one of the the more interesting um sort of parts of this whole match that that’s coming into it is obviously Esco bride um the way they play obviously M possession based kind of play out from the back not your sort of typical League two sides I think in the L League you get away with playing like that it’s been I think with General most League two sides are direct and I think that that’s one kind of threat for East Co bride because you can have all the possession in the world but you know if there’s one dangerous Target man um up up there for shr I think it’s it’s going to be an interesting game and I’m not actually fully confident about he’s called bride winning I hope they do I mean I think they’ve got a quality Squad but yeah I mean you look at we kind of t on obviously strar Squad you look at you know Isco bride obviously Nathan Flanigan’s probably one of the best players in the league from what I’ve seen him of this season Ryan Lo’s fantastic Dylan McDonald’s you AR the best right back in the league and he’s only you know he’s still a young lad so TV Al Baldi um a different I would say a different EK side to one that you played in in terms of the way they play think that’s is that hindrance obviously I always kind of think there’s a mix the Styles when you go up it’s actually like it’s modern day football yeah like and modern day management um I like I have a kind of regular joke obviously group chats Maly and Woody and jamama and bar and that and but is a kind of regular thing like nobody plays football direct anymore nobodys up like the 442 plays po Strikers everybody wants to just play this no takes by Kicks anymore like puts them for somebody to flick on and stuff like you know I was pretty good in the air um and under L especially uh we were such a direct team we just did they try and play at the back we just tried to get the ball high up the park and play a football high up the pitch um and that’s why I think we can of like you’re saying there that’s why I think it was so successful because we we knew we were better individually than pretty much any team at that level um and then when we did come up against teams that just sat in we just we knew that they W going to be near our goal so we just kept bombarding and bombarding and bombarding them um and eventually more often than not took it sto and we won but I’m I’m not a fan of the modern day tactics everybody tries to do it and I’ve always said it and and one thing for me Billy Stark was a great great guy great manager um but he came in uh after Loy and he came in with the whole kind of Scottish fa mentality that he’s got the background the badges and everything and everything was just purely like possession based get the ball keep the ball be patient um and at we we didn’t win that leag that year but we we ended up we lost in the last day if you remember against St uni if we won um then we would have won the league because Spartans DW St I think and and we ended up getting beat but we went on a a run second half of that season we went on a massive run because we’ve had plenty of chats like myself and Billy and and mtin MCB and Barry and that like obviously the experienced players because we were struggling at the start of the season but for me a big part of that was we were just too we were trying to play too much football and like there you that doesn’t work at this level like it it works most times especially against the better teams it works of course because you’re you’re playing against a team that wants to try and play as well but there’s a lot a lot of teams in the own League that that know they’re up against a team that are better than them and they just s in and I felt like with bil we were we were really struggling to kind of break teams down we were keeping the ball you probably talking 80 0% possession in every game but then when some team just sat we just struggled to be that kind of directory um and in the second half of the Season Billy ended up going 442 we were having chats and he went 442 we started playing a we bit more direct it was a bit more rela how we wanted us to play um and we started bom teams and we went on a mental run I think the only I think the only game we dropped points was that um I think we’ dropped the points at an and we drew um and then we get beaten that last game of the season but we won every other game so like you’re saying there there’s a time in a place I think League two L League maybe not so much now I don’t I’m a bit out the loop obviously the last few years but certainly um when I was there there’s I think the higher you go up levels that’s when you you kind of see the better better teams playing better football and everybody body tries to do it against you so you can get away with it but um I I think there’s got to be a balance yeah I mean I was always kind of known for being critical of Bonnie R Rose when they won and they won the league you know they won it with most points and wins maybe not most wins actually but you know Robb’s a great guy but we disagreed on football because I mean they were a team that mostly made use of their set plays you know they scored they didn’t score many from you know you know open uh open Play basic and Lee Curry was banging in fre kicks every week getting penalties and the set plays were brilliant and that’s how they done it but I always felt when they went to League into League football if you keep playing that similar way you’re playing yeah you’re playing the same teams you know it’s not like playing Home and Away you’re playing the same teams like you know four times a season so they’re going to work you out very fast and I think that’s you know what happened with Bonnie rig um but yeah I mean in terms of you know they won games they won the L League That season brilliantly but I do worry about some teams like oh I think they’re fantastic football side and yeah H but would they last in League two you know I’m still not sure because they play you know no I agree with that I do agree with that um I think like the EO bre team probably more so over the last couple of years I think um and knowing the owners in that like they’re they’re kind of throwing the kitchen sink at it now because it’s been that long they’ve put so much into it and they’re just they’re desperate to get there um and some of the players are signing I we we signed a lot of good players and we brought players down but the players that seem to be attracting now are players that are in the prime at a top top level and they’re bringing them in and H you would never have seen that I remember I actually remember H when we first won the leag um we go Bri there was nine players from the starting 11 from in our team um I think it was one of the games against SP Spartans so and even like players like BJ and that who wen’t from SC but they’ve been there for years and they bought in it it was very much a team that everybody was playing for the town everybody wanted forco Bri and we we all B into the same idea we all we all went there because of the the the want to try and get our local team up into the professional leagues I think you I don’t think there’s really anybody from Esco bra anymore and I think that kind of element of Esco bra has went out the window I think they’re not they’re not really caring about that side of it anymore it’s just a case of get into the leagues and then do it whatever way you can um which is fine and I understand it I totally understand I get why the king would want to do that and why they’re desperate to do this um because you’ve you’ve tried everything you’ve tried all sorts of different styles and techniques and whatever and now it’s a case of which you just get there get there and then they can maybe start to think AIT bit more about the community again um but that’s that’s one thing that I kind of lost think he lost a we bit of Disconnect with the town and what they were originally trying to do to get there um but you can understand why yeah I totally agree with that because you know when when you left I think it was on it was a weird I think it was December or something wasn’t it yeah as you say I think it was just before Christmas and I was shocked too obviously you were at the team and you w to playing stuff lab and I was thinking to myself think and obviously the news came out know you’re you’re leaving and that like that came out of nowhere but in F Sean I think you were the last of what I like to call the old EK guard because a lot of the boys left H probably in the summer I think you were the last sort of original EK boy to to leave there and I was thinking was a total total change even even from you know two three seasons ago I think that that whole idea of a know E Local Lads maybe a part from a couple of youth players I’m not not certain but I that’s been like that for a while where you came maybe the not necessarily local Lads but I think you’re right there is a bit of a disconnect I think it’s difficult especially I mean even looking at maybe the likes of gret now they’ve always they they can’t really decide season on season what they want to do they go local Lads one season now that’s no work we’ll go back to you know getting guys from the central belt that doesn’t work and then they kind of switch up a we but you just you get kind of no desperation right but you kind of change because you what you obviously just you’re trying anything to to be successful and what to we were you know what I mean we won I think I won about 10 11 12 cups we scho you know what I mean like and my time there so we we’ done well we just didn’t get over the line and that’s that’s a frustrating thing because that would have been perfect for what the the owners and everybody wanted to do when when we first had that conversation and bar and myself went in was that’s is that’s the way we wanted to do it we wanted to do it with a kind of localish team where uh kind of try and get the community involved and we did you know I mean with the Celtic game and stuff like that as well the town people didn’t know who youo Bri FC were um when I joined in after very quickly after the Celtic game and everything people I remember everybody used to call fle because that’s what people real that’s the team that remember from then it very quickly changed and everybody knew who e KFC war was so we we kind of put that team on the map over the first couple of years and we done everything the right the way we kind of talked about and the way we we wanted to do it it was everything was was going exactly the way we wanted it and we just could not go over the line um and then over the years it has changed it has just been like like too much time and effort and prob money has you spent on this just do what you can to get over the line and that’s it one guy we kind of mentioned I don’t know if he’s still your neighbor but David Proctor um when we last talked he was in you know I think he was caretaker at e bride at the time we we obviously talked about a lot of the manager managerial changes at ISO bride um obviously it’s been a brilliant season under mck Kennedy but have you uh have you been kind of keeping up with David Proctor obviously your former team cols yeah proor he’s got a young family I’ve got a young family he’s come on old and um I’m kind of working away and that as well so I like everything else you keep in touch as much as you can but I’m really I was really P Proctor and um not just football wise like but personally and kind of he’s a good P um and he does live around the corner from me still I think obviously when I joined kumal that that was a big factor he was going there um as kind of assistant manager I’d spoke to him and and the manager there and and obviously like I understood I liked what they had to say and um the setup at come on all coachs is brilliant with the the facilities and stuff like that a well well run um and if I’m 100% honest I don’t think H Pro was too happy when I decided to kind of hang up my boots at the end of that season I wasn’t happy either I wasn’t happy either man well it’s kind of obviously it’s worked it well for him and but I was the kind of big part obviously scored a lot of goals but I wasn’t happy actually I was not happy in my my fitness and my performances although I was scoring my game was changing and I was um I just wasn’t a I I I don’t enjoy I didn’t enjoy playing because I just felt like there was too many young players that were a lot fitter than me and even though I was scoring I just didn’t feel good and we only having the best of Seasons per um as a team even though I was scoring a lot of goals but um I think I know the pro was coming in as a manager the year after and he was wanting me to stay and he was he was saying to me like obviously like one of the more experienced guys myself Homer um and he wanted he does and then to build a kind of younger team round about and uh I think he probably wasn’t too happy when I I just said to him that I was I was going to just hang up my boots and um I actually think that I ended up obviously chucked it and then after a few months I decided I was going e thle just to play with bar and that again um and it kind of went wrong there yeah and about Christmas i’ actually just mentioned I remember s BR in passing like BR me done I’ll come back in and just get training again and he was like well to be fair he says they’ve kind of changed like obviously when I was there like I was the main Striker and he knows I wasn’t my movement my fitness wasn’t amazing but um they played to kind of Master because he knew I would score goals whereas That season they brought in kind of a lot of young boys a lot of Runners and stuff FL it kind of changed the way they played so when I said to him can of come down um I I don’t even know if I would have but I just suggested that kind of I’ll come down and he was like well we kind of we play differently now um and it’s not just like we don’t have one kind of main focal point up front and stuff that I kind of didn’t I got a feeling that um it probably was he he just he didn’t want to say no to me but it was kind of saying no you know I mean and whether or not it was just in the back of his mind that I not shafted him but I’d kind of left when he was just getting his chance in the management um but as I said I’ve never fa with Pro and I’m still P if I see him I talk to him and that you know he’s he’s had a brilliant season at come honestly could not be happier for him like they’re they’re punching way way way above their weight um and it’s obviously largely down to him um and been able to bring in the type of players that he wants and you’ve got fantastic facilities as I said the is incredible at at broadwood and that and it allows you to play whatever way you want to play so um he’s done BR I’m so happy for him another I kind of mentioned this Sean I mentioned it on Twitter as well but another player that’s kind of I think on the last podcast you said would never be a coach and he coached player coach this season Martin green he’s he’s retired obviously former teammate um he I think he got into the fulltime L on League team like you know withell um any words for for poo no listen he’s obviously I we wind up with him on Twitter said that he one of the most Waring guys he’s he’s got a bit of reputation I think just the way he is he’s always so laidback and he just killed and um his part is not the best but H look he’s I tried to bring him in E bra believe it or not at one point and he came down for a couple of games and um for whatever reason it never happened um but then he’s obviously went on and done BR things in the leag he’s just so consistent but he’s one of the most um talented players I’ve I’ve played with like all round game is’s just brilliant he’s he doesn’t he’s not the quickest but he’s all around game outside the box and scoring goals and he’s just so kind of laidback and just naturally gifted that um he’s he’s done brilliant and to be fair to him Sim he’s similar AG to myself and he’s just he keeps his in shape and I’ve got a lot of respect for people that do that because I know how hard that is at that age when you’ve got a young family and FL to to do it so hopefully does well not sure how he’ll be as a coach I don’t know if I would ever take him seriously but um he’s done brilliant to to have the care he’s had and wish him all the best another player that was mentioned funny enough has both played for Isco bride and strar H smashing it in the championship with Queen part Ry P he was kind of an early favorite of the catchup kind of similar to ourself Sean um obviously aad a lot of skill I read an article last last year I think um where he was struggling a bit obviously during his time we SC bride and and visit Rory being that successful and obviously make it that high up into the championship I I would actually 100% like M actually lived in when he joined um and he was and we used to pick him up and myself and Maly and that were quite p with him when he was at e School bra and he was a young boy when he came in to be fair I know came he was at G the year before and I remember him actually when he was against us and he was a good player and and I spoke to like the owners and the manager and that and they were talking about bringing him in and U look you’re you’re always a we bit like there’s young boys coming in and stuff like that and I know how much we wanted to get promoted and I don’t know maybe a bit of a gamble like bringing somebody in that’s a young boy that you don’t know much about and I’m thinking we want to push to to get promoted and stuff like is that’s kind of the route you want to go down and um soon as I seen him I I I liked him straight away it was like it just his attitude is honestly I’ve not seen many players with a better attitude he’s just so desperate to to do better for yourself um and he just even after every training session he’d be hitting free kicks um for half an hour 45 minutes after everybody goes he’d be working constantly on his game and he was just desperate to to to kind of be the best version he could be of himself and um don’t get me wrong he was it was raw I do remember that about him he was raw and we came up against as you know like a lot of big kind of strong Defenders like experienced guys at the own League um and they came up and I would say if I was probably one of these more experienced guys that I would in certain games I would be quite happy to play against them um at the first because he was so naive and he would he would get involved in arguments and battles and and these guys got them exactly where they wanted them because would wind them up and wind them up and when he gets wind up he he would put him off his game and he wouldn’t be playing as well like he would be trying so so hard to to kind of get one up on these guys and um it would just be so kind of so worked up it it wouldn’t be happening for him sometimes but he had all the attributes I you straight away that he’s all these attributes that are are perfect to to push yourself on and he had the right attitude as well and um he phed me actually cuz we went to Shar so like when when he left um and uh he phoned me and said that I’ve been offered to go and I actually said to him it was a year that um I ended up leaving he and um he ended up moving on but he phed me like before he’ signed cuz they were wan to sign him on obviously Bri and keep him on um but he got a couple of offers and he said to me like obviously been offered to go to sh what do you think like and I told him about the club and said it’s it’s a fantastic opportunity but I actually from a we bit of a kind of selfish point of view I was want State go bre so I was kind of saying to him what it needs to be right and and and I was kind of I did I did mean what I was saying like for somebody his age and he was at hibs and then he’s kind of went down to that level and then started doing well and had a good season at his SCH right yeah and I was thinking right well maybe the time is right like you need to pick your right moments because I know you can end up going to a team and if you’re not playing and you don’t hit the ground running then you might not get many more chances so I was thinking for for a selfish point of view I would like stat because I wanted the best players there and to give it a good goal and try and do this again but for him so I said to him like wasn’t much help with him to be fair I said to him like it’s it’s totally up to him like if you if you believe you’re good enough and you will make an impact then then go for it um but I kind of say to him like could be a good option to stay at e Bri and try and push yourself and and have another great season and then who knows then maybe the times right um but he believed he totally believed in himself and he’s he’s shown now that how how good he is I me he’s in the championship team of the year as well a he so yeah um I’m delighted for him and who knows he’s still young um relatively young and he’s he’s he’s H I think we look his attitude is absolutely amazing um I’ve not seen him playing in a couple of years but if if he continues to work on the stuff that he’s he’s he’s maybe not quite as good at which he does I know for a fact he does do then who knows you could see him maybe in the Premier League over the next year or two it’s been a been a really good success story that’s why I mentioned really obviously and you haven’t played well and again I like seeing that you know the young guys obviously if if they choose to to go up the leagues I know sometimes it’s circumstance like you mentioned obviously the family and work and whatever but I’m always delighted to see the young young guys progress and do well get their opportunity R’s been definitely one of the the ones I look at and think well that’s a a success story and I hopefully one day he does play in the the premier or for for our island or whatever um just to round up man I’m not going to put too much pressure uh on you know giving me a result but what are your expectations for the the two legs um don’t you know my feelings right it’s a really really kind of awkward one for me I’m I’m desperate for rco bra to do this get over the line but at the same time I I’ve still got kind a lot of people I talk to um and none more so than uh Robert Rice who uh he was a kind of chairman and he’s been in the committee for years he was there when I was there and I’m kind of really p with him just now and uh they see what people don’t realize is when you’re at teams when you support a team like Shar and you’ve committed your your time and U your support to them that’s that’s what you Brave these guys are absolutely all for their their Hometown it’s everything for them and I would just be so devastated for them if they they get relegated my gut feeling I think Esco bride will do it I think I think they’re going to be too strong for them and just looking at the two squads and um the way Shar have kind of folded over the last 10 games and the way Bri have just been consistently very good then I just I can see past them um I don’t what I would like to see um I would I would really love to see Shar um saving themselves but for me I I think they’re on borrowed time I I think if they don’t go down this year teams like Shar and that unfortunately probably over the next 5 to 10 years are going to end up keeping in keep being in the same position because you just don’t have the resource to to compete with some of these ambitious clubs that are coming up now say the worst happens in do get relegated just a hypothetical on this one I didn’t want you to get my hopes up or the fans but obviously Paul Woods recovering from a serious the injury 16 months out he’s playing another season if he stays on it strar um I’m not sure but strar end of the season lose a lot of players you know do you get the call um Sean we want come back in the leag I tell you what like I I don’t think it would happen I don’t think people would um well I’ve been I’ve not played in uh over a year now well y just about I was playing obviously amateur and NCO bride and that as well and um I was scoring goals like I play sevens every week my brother and that and stuff and but when you’re playing and you miss it like when I’m playing there and I do something in sevens and I know it’s just a game with your Ps and stuff that but I think to myself well you know what like my kids are a we bit older now my girl obviously now is coming up for four my boy’s 11 he’s like a breeze so and my work settled down everything’s kind of away for Co and stuff like that and I’m starting to get myself back in AE we go to the gym and see the more I get fitter and the more I’m playing sevens and and enjoying playing a game like it makes me think well I’m actually only a 36 you know what I mean I’m not way over the hill um and it would be good to maybe give myself another we year somewhere and um well all depends as I said to you at come old Colts I scored a lot of goals um and I I done well had a good season personally um but I didn’t enjoy it because I’ve always been fit like I’ve always my work ethic in in teams is probably one of my I’ve always said that I’m not the most technically gifted player but I work my socks off and I’ve got certain amount of ability I can score goals and stuff like that so I would need to be fit because I come on older remember coming up against like the Unis I again I remember playing still in uni or the guys they probably ability wise one My Level but like Fitness wise they were way above and even so it doesn’t really matter how how good I was like I remember getting pushed off the ball and these we guys who were just bu with tanks and I’m trying to push them because I like getting involved a we bit in games um and I just didn’t have that anymore and it actually just it was it was embarrassing and my head for me at times playing at that and I was that when I was as fit as I should be so it all comes down to if I can get myself then who knows like I’m not going to say it 100% might happen it might know but I would love to get maybe another we year somewhere so planting that idea in your head manate just just planting it in there but um no it’s it’s been great speaking to you again Sean catching up on that and I know it’s been it’s an awkward one obviously where you know you’re Associated to with both sides and but obviously you’re honest as ever obviously on these on these things so I really appreciate that and uh I um no matter what happens obviously I’ll try and keep in touch with you but I back in next season thank you we’ll see what happens
