Warren meets... Brian McDermott

On Wednesday afternoon, I had a chat with Reading manager Brian McDermott about his career as a player, coach, Chief Scout and every other job he seems to have had at the club! Anyway, here it is, I hope you enjoy it!

WL: Brian, it all began for you at Arsenal, how big a thing for you, after getting released by QPR, to come up through the ranks with the Gunners and into the first team?

BM: Yeah, it was a big thing for me. I made my debut at 17. Obviously was at QPR for a long time but never made the grade there. Then went to Millwall and had a trial there and it just didn’t happen for me there, and I was lucky enough to get taken up by Arsenal, played 70 odd games for them. It’s a fantastic club and a great experience.

TOP GUN: Brian during his Arsenal days

WL: So during your time there, who were the main players at Arsenal?

BM: Liam Brady - I made my debut with Liam Brady. There was Graham Rix, Tony Woodcock. Later time in the 80s there was Charlie Nicholas, Pat Jennings, we had some fantastic players there... Kenny Sansom was another one. We got to three cup finals and it was a really good experience and still, it’s a top club.

WL: After Arsenal, you spent a bit of time in Sweden. How did that move come about and was it a hard decision to make due to you only being in your early 20s?

BM: Yeah, it wasn’t easy to leave home at the time. I just felt I needed to have a new experience. At the time I wasn’t getting many games at the Arsenal and I just felt that I needed to go to get life experience more than anything. It went well for me in Sweden; I was Player of the Year over there in 1984 and I had a great time and I’ve got a real affinity with Sweden.

WL: You mentioned that Player of the Year, how high does that achievement rank in your career?

BM: Yeah, that’s up there. That was when I was a player and the person who was a player was 20 years ago now probably. It was such a long time ago, I can’t really remember too much about it! It was up there though, I had a great experience and I really enjoyed the people over there.

WL: You then came back to England before having a spell in Hong Kong, can you tell me a little bit about the move out there?

BM: I’d just been at Exeter, we’d won the league and I went to Yeovil. I then left Yeovil and was offered the chance to play abroad in Hong Kong. It was a completely diverse experience; I took the family out there and we had a great time out there. We spent about six months out there and again, it was another really good experience for me.

WL: You played the last of your playing career for your hometown club, Slough, however, you soon got into management; was this an aspiration of yours?

BM: Not particularly. I was at Slough for a couple of years and financially we were going under. We ended up 8^th in the league, in the Conference and managed to get to the semi-finals of the (FA) Trophy. It was a fantastic year for us but the club went under because the chairman didn’t want to finance the club anymore. I ended up at Woking and was there for 18 months before I ended up at Reading where I’ve been ever since.

WL: As mentioned, you’ve had that non-league experience, how did those tough times with the smaller clubs shape you as the man you are today?

BM: Non-league is completely different (to the Football League); you train two nights per week and you play on the Saturday, you haven’t got the training facilities and you have to do a lot of the work yourself. Everything really; you haven’t got a lot of staff, players don’t turn up on training nights sometimes. It’s a good experience and it’s part of your 10,000 hours where you’re learning!

WL: We’ll talk about Reading now, you’re time there is similar to the spell at Arsenal in starting at the bottom and working your way to the top, seemingly holding down every job at the club, but, did you ever think 13 years ago that you’d ever be manager of Reading Football Club?!

BM: Not really. I’m not someone who thinks like that; I live very much day-to-day. I’ve enjoyed every job I’ve done. I’ve done the under-17s, the under-19s, Chief Scout, I’ve been reserve team manager, so I’ve done every job at the club now and I know the club off by heart! We’ve got great supporters at our club, really good staff and I really enjoy coming into work every day.

Shane Long was unearthed by McDermott (Zimbio)

WL: You had play-off final heartbreak at the end of the 2010/2011 season (to Swansea), what did you say to the players after the match that helped them bounce back from that and reach the Premier League the following campaign?

BM: I just spoke to the players and told them just how proud I was of them for their efforts over the season. I was generally just so proud of what they’d done and was so disappointed for them. I think I was more disappointed for them than myself. We had a tough three months but we had to rebuild and go again. You have two choices; you can give up or you can thrive, get on with it and do what you have to do. We did what we had to do and last season was one of our proudest and one of the best achievements you have seen at Reading Football Club in many a year.

SINC-ING FEELING: Scott Sinclair slots away the penalty (Who Ate All The Pies)

WL: Of course, you finally achieved promotion from the Championship against Nottingham Forest, but was there ever a point in the season or a specific game (other than the Forest one) where you thought you’d do it and it would be your year?

BM: No, I just thought very much day-to-day. Never thought ahead, never looked back and I concentrated on the job in hand every day. I never thought about promotion, the only time I did was when we did go up. Even then, I was determined to win the league and that was important to the players; there were players in the dressing room that hadn’t won a medal – Ian Harte, Jason Roberts, Mikele Leigertwood, Jobi McAnuff and I wanted them to win a medal, and they did.

Reading reach the Premier League (The Sun)

WL: Brian, now you’re a Premier League manager, if there any time to relax and if so, what do you do to relieve the stresses?!

BM: There’s time to relax. I’m okay with it really. I’m a very calm person, I do the best I can, I enjoy talking about football to the players and the staff. To be honest, my relaxation is still, completely football orientated.

WL: As a Crawley supporter, I’ve got to ask, you took Hope Akpan from us last week, where can Hope get to under the guidance of you and the staff at Reading and what did you see in him to make the offer?

BM: Well probably the same of what you’ve seen in Hope! You’ve probably seen him play more times than what I have. He’s a top lad, he’s got energy, he can pass it, he can score goals. He’s hungry for it and he believes that he can do it so that’s always half the battle.

ROYAL APPOINTMENT: Hope Akpan (Reading FC Facebook)

WL: This season is about survival, but where can you see Reading as a club in three to five years time?

BM: No idea! Haven’t got a clue, and that’s why I live in the moment. Where you see yourselves, I don’t know. I can never answer that question; I have no power over the future, I’ve only got the now and I only live in the now and the moment!

WL: Finally, we’re in the middle of January now, transfer window is still open of course, are there any specific areas of the squad you want to strengthen?

BM: We maybe come up with something. We’ve signed three players so far (Hope Akpan, Daniel Carrico and Stephen Kelly) but if something comes up that interests us then we’ll look to possibly do a deal.

Many thanks to Brian for the interview.

Warren meets... Wilfried Zaha

It's been quite a journey for a man, or, at the age of just 19, a boy who many tip for the top. Wilfried came down to my second home, Southampton for a chat on "Black History Month". I went down there too and managed to catch up with the Crystal Palace and England under-21 attacker.

WL: Wilfried, you've been at Crystal Palace your whole career and were taken on at Selhurst Park at 10 years of age. How were you spotted?

WZ: Basically, I went to a school called Whitehorse Manor and I played for the school team. We used to get entered for a number of different tournaments. We had a really good school team and we used to win most of them. One day, one game, a Crystal Palace scout came to watch us, liked what he saw and from then three of us got selected. When we got selected, out of the three of us, I was the only one who managed to stay on. I had to put in so much work - on my own, at home, practising in the back garden so yeah, I managed to stay, come up through the ranks and get to where I am now.

WL: Any ideas who the scout was that helped you seize your chance?

WZ: I can't really remember his name.... Dave... I think his surname was Webber... yeah, Dave Webber I think.

WL: The other two who didn't make it, do you remember their names?

WZ: I actually don't know what their doing really. One of the others is still a friend. His name's Adrian Thomas and I think he's still in education. I still keep in contact with him quite a bit but the other one, I don't know his name and I haven't a clue what he's doing.

WL: Of course, Palace have a very good reputation of bringing through youngsters such as you and Nathaniel Clyne, are you looking to follow in his footsteps and play in the Premier League, possibly with Palace?

WZ:  Yeah, definitely. That's my goal, that's where I want to be. I'm really enjoying it at Palace but anyone at my age will have the same goal and the Premier League is definitely a level I want to reach looking to the future.

CLYNE: Now playing for Southampton 

WL: You obviously know Nathaniel well, I take it the both of you still keep in touch?

WZ: Yeah, we do. Before a game, he'd send me a message saying "Good luck" and of course, I'd return the favour by wishing him the best of luck before any game that he plays. We're both friends and we constantly keep in contact all the time because we were both really close when he was with me at Palace.

WL: I can't not ask you about the Manchester United match last season. I've been there as a fan but playing there, walking out and getting the win must have been incredible!

WZ: It was sensational! No words can really describe what it felt like to be honest with you. To play at Old Trafford, against those players - who I looked to as role models and watching them on Match of the Day every Saturday night was unbelievable. To get the result as well was just mind-blowing. It was crazy!

Zaha (yellow) sheilds the ball from United right back Rafael

WL: You're a very highly rated footballer who many, myself included, believe are one of the best players in the Championship. When you're booed by opposition fans due to being a good player, does that motivate you to perhaps play a little bit better in a way?

WZ: It does. Because of all the grief I get from "bitter" fans, it motivates me more. I'm here for a reason and fans like to say I'm over-rated so I like to show them that I'm here because of what I've done, I'm not lucky to be picked, I've earned myself the right to be playing.

WL: Dougie Freedman (Palace manager) has left the club to join Bolton Wanderers, is that something that surprises you?

WZ: I'm dissapointed to see him go. I first met him when I was 14 so he's always been around the place in some key years for me. He's a good man and I've sent him a message saying goodbye and wishing him the best.

FREED: Zaha is sad to see his manager leave

WL: Let's talk about your international career now and looking in from the outside, I can see there are some very good players such as Tom Ince and yourself in the England under-21s. What are your views on the squad from inside the camp?

WZ: Being able to play with some of the best young players in England altogether is something that's difficult to explain.... There's not one player in the squad who isn't good if you know what I mean?! Players like Raheem Sterling for example who has got loads of tricks and lots of pace - playing with these guys just motivates you to play better with all the talent that you have around you really.

Sterling has broken through the Liverpool ranks this season

WL: Of course, we must talk about the unsavoury incidents in the Serbia game last week. You played in the match. It was shocking wasn't it?

WZ: It was just disgusting to be out there and to be treated in that way. The good thing was that Stuart Pearce (England under-21 manager) just told us what to expect. He told us not to react and just to have a professional mindset out there to do the job of getting to the European Championships and get it done. We already had a plan in our mindsets - we had to take it in and not let it affect us. It was ridiculous really to get that level of abuse.

Zaha leaves 3 players in his wake during the "disgusting" game

WL: Do you get that level of abuse over here in any of the games you have played in the Championship?

WZ: I got it once.... It was against Millwall. I don't let it affect me really. I go there to do what I have to do on the football pitch and then leave when the game is finished. I don't have to get into anything like arguments with any of the fans. To tell you the truth it doesn't get to me and at the end of the day, I'm only there to play football.

WL: You mentioned the Euro's earlier, what can England achieve from that tournament? Is the sky the limit?

WZ: Literally, the sky is the limit with the players we have. When you look at the quality in the squad then I really don't see any reason why we can't go there and win it.

WL: In the future, do you have any interests in playing abroad? Would someone like a Barcelona or Real Madrid be something that would interest you?

WZ: Definitely. That's one of my goals as well. I'm still young but playing for one of those teams is something I'd like to do - they're two of the best teams in the world.

WL: So Spain is the aim?!

WZ: Definitely. Spain IS the aim!

Many thanks to Wilfried for taking the time out to speak to me.

Some photos courtesy of The Sun, TalkSport & Zimbio

Warren meets... Craig Mackail-Smith

I was due to interview another Peterborough player on Saturday in Craig Alcock. Unfortunately, he didn't travel down with the squad however, I did see another Craig; Brighton forward Mackail-Smith lurking around after watching his former team mates play and I managed to grab a few words with him.

WL: Craig, you started your career kicking around in the non-league game, how were those experiences?

CMS: Yeah, it was fantastic, I think I've worked hard to get to where I am today and non-league kind of shaped my career and built me as a player. It taught me a lot about appreciating the game and, as I say, I wouldn't be the player I am today without my non-league background.

THE BOY'S GONNA BE SPECIAL: Craig during his Arlesey days

WL: So it's fair to say, playing at non-league grounds galvanised you to make sure you made it as a pro?

CMS: Yeah, definitely, I've been to some tough grounds and played some tough teams and tough defenders so yeah, it shapes you as a person and as a man. It introduces you to the men's kind of football and I always look out for the teams that I used to play for.

WL: You went to Dagenham & Redbridge, John Still brought you in, along with many other players from the lower leagues, how much of an influence did he have on you?

CMS: He was fantastic, he game me the opportunity taking me from Arlesey Town and changed me from a winger into a forward. He allowed me just to play my natural game and, as you say, he's brought on some great players like Paul Benson and Sam Saunders so it shows he's got an eye for talent in the non-leagues. He's done fantastically well with his Dagenham side.

RESPECTED: John Still

WL: You then moved to Peterborough, you took a while to stamp your mark and had to bide your time there but soon struck up a brilliant partnership with Aaron McLean. It must have been great to suddenly get loads of games and bang in lots of goals?

CMS: Yeah, I think someone said that we couldn't play together because we were too similar and then I think we both ended up scoring 100 goals between us so, it was a fantastic partnership and we complemented each other so well on the pitch and got on well off the pitch so it was great to play together. I had a fantastic time at Peterborough, have great memories and I always try and get to games when I can.

DEADLY DUO: Craig celebrates yet another goal with Aaron McLean

WL: You scored 35 goals in your last season at Posh which triggered your move to Brighton, how big a transfer was that for you in terms of moving away from that area where you had played for a while?

CMS: I'd been at Peterborough for almost five years so it was a big change. Brighton had just moved into a new stadium, were a club on the up and were looking to push on into the Premiership. I felt it was a club that matched my ambitions to push on and Gus (Poyet) obviously sold me the club, sold me the vision and I moved there. I felt that I had a pretty good season but not fantastic; I felt I could have maybe scored a few more goals last season but it was a good place to start and hopefully this coming season, I can push on and
score a lot more goals.

WL: I think it was a record transfer at the time and still is, did that put pressure on you to succeed?

CMS: Yeah, it probably put a little bit of pressure, maybe more pressure than I put on myself; I should have just gone out there, played my natural game and enjoyed myself. Sometimes things are made a bit difficult and you go out there trying to justify your price tag, maybe that didn't help me and maybe I didn't score as many goals due to that. However, I have learnt from that and this season I'm just going to relax and enjoy!

RECORD BREAKER: Move could rise to £3.5m

WL: Previously, you've played for England C, from there you've then gone on to play for the full Scotland national side, that must have been a great experience as well?

CMS: Yeah it's been fantastic. I wanted to play for Scotland for a long time and it didn't come around when George Burley was in charge but Craig Levein (Scotland manager) gave me the chance about a year and a half ago and I love it. Everytime I pull the shirt on I wear it with pride and I love representing Scotland.

WL: So you made your debut against Brazil of all teams, that must have been an eye-opener!?!

CMS: Yeah it was fantastic to play against the world champions and unbelievable world class players in my first international game and it's certainly given me the appetite to get more and more caps and of course to play against better teams.

Craig meets Barcelona right back Dani Alves!

WL: Finally Craig, your in your prime at 28 now, where can we expect to see you in five years time... maybe at the Broadfield!?

CMS: (Laughs) Hopefully still in the Premiership. Hopefully I'll get to the Premiership, play there a few years.  You never know, once I get that little bit older I'll see where I go from there; maybe a bit of coaching or a bit of management. We'll see what happens!

I would like to thank Craig for taking the time out to speak to me.

Warren meets... Kevin Davies

As you may know, last night (Tuesday) saw Bolton Wanderers come to Crawley for their Capital One Cup tie.

Anyway, you should know the drill by now, I never miss an opportunity to hassle someone and unfortunately for him, Kevin Davies was that man!

WL: Kevin, you started your long footballing career way back at Sheffield United, your boyhood club. You were released at 15, how hard was that decision to take?

KD: It was at the time yeah. It was a club I supported and a club I was at for a few years. Looking back now it was a blessing in disguise really to be honest because 6 months later I joined Chesterfield and it went from there. At the time it was difficult but it wasn't taken too hard and with my family behind me, pushing me on, I never looked back really.

WL: Was it pleasing to move there, even though you dropped down the leagues, with it still being fairly local to you?

KD: Yeah, like you say, they sort of snapped me up from the Sheffield boys side. There's was a lot of players that signed for some top teams before me and I was one of the, if not the last to sign. However, not many of them have gone on to do what was expected of them and haven't really had the career that I've had. I just decided to keep going and managed to get a good opportunity at Chesterfield and I just took it really.

Davies (blue) tussles against Middlesbrough for Chesterfield

WL: You did well at Saltergate and after 4 years at Chesterfield you headed south and joined Southampton. Was it difficult to relocate away from the family because you were still fairly young at the time?

KD: No, not at all really. As you say, I was young at the time at around twenty years old I think and I made some good friends down there and settled in really well. It's a lovely part of the world down there. I sort of had a good half-season there and picked up and injury. It didn't really pan out the way I wanted it to and I moved to Blackburn that Summer. I ended up moving back and I've got to be honest, I really enjoyed my time down there, I've still got a good number of friends down there and fond memories.

WL:You mentioned you've been there (Southampton) twice and even though you're at Bolton now is it still a club close to your heart?

KD: Yeah, definitely, like I say, I made plenty of friends down there and really enjoyed my time. We played some good football in my three and a half years there, had a good lifestyle and played with a great squad of players as well - There were really some fantastic players in that team.

KD celebrates a goal for Southampton

WL: Bolton ended up signing you on a free - A transfer that many believe was probably one of the best free transfers in English football.

KD: Yeah, for whatever reason it didn't work out in the end at Southampton. The new manager - Gordon Strachan came in and I didn't quite fit in. My face didn't fit for one reason or another which was a shame. At the time I was around my mid-twenties and I went out on loan to Millwall to get a few games and to get a bit of experience. I knew that there was a very slim chance I'd get a new contract there with Gordon Strachan so went to Millwall and got some games. I went to Bolton for a trial sort of thing that Summer, did okay and it really just went from there.

MISTAKE: Strachan allowed Kevin to leave

WL: Your international career now. You've made just the solitary appearance for England in 2010, do you still harbour hopes of maybe making a few more?

KD: No, no, I don't think it's going to happen again. I worked extremely hard to get there and had been on the fringes of the squad a few times, certainly since I've been at Bolton. I greatly enjoyed the experience overall and it was a great honour to pull on the shirt and get out there. I had a few close calls and a few heartaches and I was disappointed not to maybe make a few more but that's just football for you.

INTERNATIONAL: Davies on England duty

WL: Finally, a disappointing season with Bolton last season. This campaign I presume you're looking to take the club straight back up?

KD: Yes. We've had a steady start but we've got a good and we're looking to bounce back straight away. That's the plan.

Many thanks to Kevin for taking the time out to speak to me.

Also, thanks to Jennie Kozlowski and her Bolton Wanderers media team for helping to ort the interview out - Good luck for the season.

Some photos courtesy of The Guardian , The Sun and the Daily Mail.

Meet The Manager: Gus Poyet

With the Brighton manager being a bit of a Premier League legend, I decided it was only right to have a chat with the big man about his career in the game after the Crawley v Brighton draw... ladies and gents, Gus Poyet!

WL: Gus, thanks for joining me! Growing up, was being a footballer always the plan for you?

GP: Well, Uruguay, my country, it's all about football to be honest! The other big sport it Basketball but as a kid, all you want to do is to play football. In those times, we were able to play football in the streets which is something that you really can no longer do these days! So, yeah, I was going to school and playing football most of the day!

WL: All that football paid off as your career really kicked off at Real Zaragoza. How was the La Liga experience?

GP: It was important to me because any South American wants to play in Europe. I had seven years in a very decent team and we won quite a few trophies. My time at Zaragoza gave me the chance to come to England.

IN SITU: I chat to Gus

WL: Yeah, and at Zara, you won both the Copa del Rey and The Cup Winners Cup, a great achievement for one of the so called "smaller clubs"?

GP: Yes. Especially the Cup Winners Cup. I think the Copa del Rey, it was, for the club, a "you've got a chance to win it" competition. The Cup Winners Cup was unique - It was not expected, the celebrations were magnificent and it was very, very nice to be a part of it!

WL: After seven years in Spain, you moved to Chelsea. Was playing in England always something you wanted to do?

GP: Not really, no! It was a surprise to me that Chelsea were interested! I was a free and for me, it was a big decision because I was 29 with two kids. I had to start again from zero, learn a new language. It was a tough decision to make the move but as you can imagine, it was the right decision!

Gus during his Chelsea days

WL: And at Stamford Bridge, you continued the fine cup success in your career by winning both the FA Cup and the Super Cup, where do these rank in your career highlights?

GP: The FA Cup, for me, was unique. It was a special place and we (Chelsea) were lucky enough to be the last winners at the old Wembley Stadium. It was fantastic for us and a great experience. We had a fantastic team and every year, we seemed to be winning trophies which brings people together.

WL: Four years after joining Chelsea, you moved to Spurs, was it a tough decision to leave the Blues?

GP: Well, I had a bit of an issue with (Claudio) Ranieri. He was not the type of manager that I would have done well with and I had to make that decision in terms of keeping myself playing in the game. I made a very good friend there in (Mauricio) Taricco, who's now my assistant at Brighton and I made the decision to move. At the time, I thought it was a normal move and then I realised there was a big rivalry between the two clubs! I wasn't trying to upset people at Chelsea and there was never a time when I was trying to go up against them - It was just a career decision.

Gus celebrates scoring another goal from midfield!

WL: You've gained a reputation as a goalscoring midfielder, what was the secret to coming in and banging in those goals from your position?

GP: Timing! Timing and the ability to be a player who was always concentrating on the game for 90...95 minutes. Always concentrating on the game, always reading the game and always paying attention for the whole game.

WL: Onto your international career now and with Uruguay, you won the Copa America, beating the likes of Brazil and Argentina, that must have been a pleasing moment!?

GP: (Intense grinning!)Yes! ... I didn't really play a lot for Uruguay. I had the chance to play in the Copa America for your country and, as you can imagine, to make your whole country so happy, it's really special. For me, it was probably one of the best... no, the best achievements that I made during my career.

Gus (L) in Uruguay colours

WL: And you soon went into coaching, joining up with your old friend Dennis Wise as an assistant at both Swindon and Leeds, did that whet your appetite to go into management?

GP: Well, I learned a lot from my time (as assistant). I saw everything from the reaction of the players from the inside. After that, slowly, slowly, going through Juande Ramos at Spurs, then I decided to become a manager. I thought it would be a great experience to become a manager after that.

WISE GUYS: Gus (R) knew Dennis (L) from Chelsea

WL: So your grateful to Brighton for giving you that chance?

GP: Yeah... well, yeah, it was a big risk for them to be honest. But at the end of the day, it worked out very well for the Chairman as well! I'm pleased I made the decision to drop down as well because I wanted my chance to manage in the Championship but I couldn't get a job and I had to make the decision to drop down to League 1... In the end, it worked out fine!

WL: Of course, two seasons ago, you won promotion to the Championship with Brighton and with it, moved into a plush new stadium to boot... the perfect season in your view?

GP: Yeah it was. It was perfection. We needed to get out (of League 1) and it was a dream to win the league. The way we did it as well, was something very special too!

WL: Off the pitch, you've got your son Diego, have you made any moves to try and bring him to the Amex?!

GP: No, no, no! No chance. It would be difficult for me to manage him! What we will do is to make sure that we leave him in there (Charlton Athletic's Academy) and wait and see what happens!

WL: He currently plays for England under 16s, would you like to see him pull on the sky blue of Uruguay?

GP: I have no preference. It's Diego's choice, it's his decision and it's not an issue.

WL: Finally, you're at Brighton at the moment, is the aim the Premier League and would you like to manage Uruguay some time in the future?

GP: Yeah (on Uruguay). It's a long time off yet though. I need to get to the top first. You cannot go from a Division 1 team and then go straight into a national job. I'll need to get to the top and then, probably, you will be given the chance!

WL: Muchos Gracias Gustavo!

GP: De nada!

Me and Gus

Many thanks to Gus for speaking to me!

Warren meets... Michel Kuipers

A week or two ago, Three Bridges hosted Crawley Town. In the Reds net that night was Michel Kuipers and I had a chat with him about his early career as a Marine, his decade at Brighton and what the future holds.

WL: Michel, you began actually as a Marine, was that something you wanted to do when you were young?

MK: Yeah, that's right. I first had to do my national service - I didn't just want to waste my 18 months of national service and ending up like a lorry driver or something like that so I decided that I wanted to do something special and I did a 6 month in-test for the Marines and I ended up staying there for four and a half years.

WL: From the Marines you then joined Bristol Rovers, a bit of a change! How did that all come about?

MK: During the last year or so when I was in the Marines, I played for an Amsterdam club and we won the league, managed to get some publicity; newspapers, TV, radio. They were surprised by the fact that this team, for the first time in 25 years had won promotion and I got invited to a trial week at Bristol Rovers. Ian Holloway was the manager there at the time and after a week of trialing, he offered me a two-year deal.

WL: For one reason or another, it didn't really work out there. You then moved to Brighton and didn't really look back!

MK: Yeah, definitely. Me and Bobby Zamora both came at the same time. Bobby and I were both at Bristol Rovers and we both moved together to Brighton at the same time. We had some very successful years, he got a fantastic move to Tottenham and I stayed at Brighton for ten years! So, for the both of us, we really improved both our careers with the move to Brighton.

Zamora went on to play for England

WL: And in the ten years, you must have had a few memorable moments, can you pick out a couple of highlights?

MK: There's a lot! Winning my first Championship was really special and then winning another Championship the year after was even more special. Winning the play-off Final at the Millenium Stadium was memorable, sometimes, even staying up on the last day of the season in the Championship was also very special. There are loads of special moments, you know, beating Manchester City on penalties and saving the last penalty from Michael Ball to win the tie and to knock out the richest club in the world  - There are some very special moments that will always stay with me.

WL: Yeah, you've been rewarded for your loyal service to Brighton with a testimonial in around two weeks time. This must be something that you're really looking forward to.

MK: Yeah! I'm definitely looking forward to playing at the Amex Stadium. It's something that I campaigned for  for ten years. Finally the stadium is there and it's great for the community and it's great for Sussex that there's a stadium there that can be used, not only for football but to also educate youngsters during the day. A lot of people don't realise what goes on there during the day, there are a lot of young people using that stadium so it's fantastic news all round!

WL: On leaving Brighton, you joined Crawley. You'd obviously had a spell on loan in non-league at Boston but were worried about dropping down to Conference level permanently?

MK: No, not at all. I was very happy to join Crawley because I was still doing my "Albion in the Community" work. It was good to combine the two and stay in Sussex. I really enjoy Sussex and I'm very happy living here. I thought that I could either move away or work for "Albion in the Community" and play for Crawley and it was an easy decision in the end to come and join Crawley. Two years later and the fourth and fifth promotion and I'm back in League 1 again! It's been very enjoyable, five promotions in your career, there's not many professional footballers who can say that!

WL:  Exactly! So, your first season at Crawley wasn't bad, a fourth promotion for you and of course, the superb FA Cup run to go with it! Manchester United away was alright as well!

MK: Yeah, it was very good! Manchester United away, Old Trafford, in front of... what was it? 78,000 people or 76,000 people, you know, it was really nice and it was a great experience. We gained a lot of confidence from that match and afterwards we never looked back really, winning the league and gaining promotion to League 2. Last season was another great effort by the lads once again went up by getting third spot. At one stage we were out of the automatic promotion places but we fought our way back in and in the end we got something that we deserved; promotion again!

Kuips (R) and David Hunt (L) after the Manchester United game

WL: Indeed. On the topic of that last day at Accrington, how nerve-racking was that for you?!

MK: Yeah, of course but at the end of the day, we went into it in the last place, the third place. All we had to do was to stay in that third position and that's what we did! Now we are in League 1 which will be hard because there are a lot of strong teams and a lot of good players, big teams that used to be in the Premiership like Portsmouth and Coventry, big squads and expensive players. We'll need to test ourselves, especially away from home at big stadiums, a big crowd will be on our backs and we'll sometimes have to defend as a team and stay strong and hopefully we will get all the support we've got in the last two years and hopefully they'll be backing us again!

Michel (C) in yellow, enjoys his fifth promotion!

WL: I hope so! Finally, you're in the twilight years of your career at 38. Do you want to get into coaching in the future or have you began already?

MK: Yeah, I'm doing my coaching now at Crawley and obviously still playing but I also do the goalkeeper coaching as well. Paul Jones has come in this Summer and he's been fantastic really. He's a very good goalkeeper and he's very eager to learn. My style of goalkeeping is the new generation; it's very specialised in techniques and detail. All the training sessions that we do are the latest ones. We work a lot on footwork and distribution. Every game I watch him and I analyse him and I set him different targets and every time, he has succeeded in hitting the targets that I set him. It's fantastic to work with him (Jones) and I'm very pleased that he is at the football club because he is a very good goalkeeper and a very nice lad. I think that with the goalkeeping union point of view, it's going to be another successful year!

Me and "The Former Dutch Marine"!

Many thanks to Michel for taking the time out to speak to me.

Warren meets... Ben Hamer

After the defeat to Charlton on Wednesday evening, I managed to get hold of their number 1 and former Crawley loanee Ben Hamer and had a chat on his career so far and his future!

WL: Ben, you've had a bit of a different life to most and at 2 you moved to Germany, how did that come about?

BH: I just moved out there with my family, was over there for a few years. We came back when I was seven or eight and moved back to the West Country. From there, I obviously grew up, left home at 16 and came up to Reading and the London area.

WL: Und du sprehen Deutsch? (And you speak German?)

BH: Ja!... Ein bisschen!

WL: What does that mean?! I'm not that good!

BH: A little bit!

WL: I heard you were fluent?!

BH: I was... well, until about six years ago when I stopped speaking it! It's kind of gone now though - my German tongue has kind of slowly evaporated!

WL: Did it take long to master?

BH: Well I grew up with it. As I said, I was only two so obviously, I was in Germany, I went to a German school. That was my first language really, I grew up speaking that until about six or seven when I came back to live over in England and I learnt to speak English again. German was primarily my first language but over the years I haven't used it and kind of lost it.

WL: Onto your footballing career now. Somerset to Reading is hardly around the corner, how were you spotted?

BH: It was in a county game really. I was 15, just playing for my school counties and there was a Reading scout who was there, was impressed and invited me over for a trial and it kind of went from there really. Signed as a YTS at 16 and later I came down to this wonderful place (Crawley) for a year!

SIGNING ON: Ben (R) with John Medejski

WL: You did, was it difficult to move away from home (Somerset) at such a young age?

BH: Erm... not really. I suppose you've got to be mentally strong. I swapped schools when I was younger growing up so I was kind of used to new surroundings and stuff like that so it didn't really affect me. I moved up there and got on with my football because it was something I really wanted to do. It wasn't really a massive issue for me.

WL: As you said, you came here in your teenage years, a big opportunity to play plenty of games.

BH: Yeah, to be honest it was quite nice coming back here tonight. I think it's the first time in five years, I was 18 at the time and came here as a first team pro on loan. John Hollins (former Crawley manager) took me here and gave me my first experience in playing men's football so I'll always be grateful to him and the club for that. It was an opportunity to really get my foot in the door professionally really and gave me the opportunity to play football - It's a place I will always remember.

Ben in action for Crawley

WL: During your year at Crawley you also won the club's Player of the Year, a great achievement at such a young age!

BH: Yeah, Young Player of the Year I think it was. Yeah, it wasn't a bad season, we had money problems at the time, administration and we had minus ten points at the time as well. We started off at the bottom with the minus ten and I think we cleared that pretty sharpish within four or five games and built from there. In the end it wasn't a bad season, I really enjoyed it and made some good friends here. One still here is Dannie Bulman. I'm surprised to still see him here to be honest but he's still going strong so fair play to him!

STILL GOING STRONG: Dannie Bulman (Centre)

WL: You spent quite a bit of time at Brentford after leaving us (Crawley), you won League 2 in one of the seasons as well. Were you tempted to make the deal permanent after the number of spells you had there?

BH: Erm... I don't know really, it never really came into question to be honest with you. At Brentford I'd done well and played well for them and every time I seemed to come back on loan, Reading seemed to offer me a new contract. You know, it was good for me to be learning with a Premiership or Championship side - whatever Reading were at the time and I was happy to come out on loan and play my games that way. Then, obviously there came a time where I was getting older; I'm 24 now so last Summer I made the decision to leave with one year left on my deal. Luckily, Charlton came in for me and I made the decision to come and last season speaks for itself, we won promotion and it was the right decision in the end.

Hamer (L) celebrates Brentford's League 2 promotion

WL: Definitely... Now, I spoke to Bradley (Wright-Phillips), last week at the Three Bridges game and he said to me it was the best time of his career last season. Is it something you concur with?

BH: Yes I do, yes I do concur with that! From the start I could tell we'd have a chance because it was the same as when I was at Brentford and we went up.  The lads seemed to gel very quickly; it was a new bunch of lads that had been brought together. Even in pre-season you could tell that the lads were going to be fighting for each other and were good, level headed lads that had their feet on the ground and we had a positive vibe the whole way through the season. They're all a great bunch of lads and it was a very special season.

WL: And next season Ben, a Championship side now, do you look at what the likes of Southampton and Norwich have done in winning two successive promotions and aim for the Premier League? Go again?!

BH: That would be the ultimate for us. It'll be the first time in the Championship as a bunch of players, not many of us have played at that level, especially me - I've never made an appearance in the Championship yet. It'll be a new, fresh challenge and we'll look to do as well as we can and try and challenge the big teams that we're going to be coming up against and I'm sure we can hold our own. As far as promotion goes, I don't think you can say that just yet. We'll take every game as it comes and see how it goes, just like we did last year and look where it got us!

PROMOTION TIME: Can the Addicks do it again?!

WL: Finally, you've said, you're 24 now, you're number 1 in the Championship for Charlton, Premier League and England in a few years Ben?!

BH: I don't know... I don't know! Obviously, that is my goal in life and to achieve that I want to play in the Premiership. It's all about the tiny little stepping stones and gradually getting closer. As you say, I'm in the Championship now, hopefully I'll do well there. There is a long way to go but that is my goal and that is what I'll be striving for!

Me and Ben

Thanks a lot to Ben for taking the time to speak to me. I wish him all the best at Charlton this coming season!

Thanks also to Dave Burt at www.ctfcphotos.co.uk for the use of some of the images!

Warren meets... Shaun Batt

As I was wondering who else to interview this week, a few on Twitter were demanding Shaun Batt. Of course, my "fans" mean everything to me :) so, supply and demand, ladies and gents, here it is!

WL: Shaun, you were fortunate enough to be blessed with the skills of both football and athletics, why did you choose to kick a ball in the end?

SB: It was a tough decision to be honest. I've got love for both. My last year, I think I was under 17 and I did really well. Unfortunately, I missed out on refunding by about 5 or 6 centimetres and the following year I went up to the next age group which was under 20's and I'd have had 3 years at that age group. My football then started to take off and I made the decision to follow my football and see where it went and luckily it's got me to where I am today.

WL: It's fair to say you were quite good at running! You did the 100m, 200m and the Triple Jump, which event were you best at do you feel?

SB: Triple Jump was my best event definitely.

WL: Instead of seeing you at the Broadfield today, could we have seen you at the Olympics in London?!

SB: You never know I guess, possibly, but I suppose we will never know what could have been!

Olympic Park bound could have been a possibility

WL: Onto the football and you've made the long route up to get to where you are being a professional, how did the non-league experiences effect you?

SB: Yeah, I think playing at non-league level made me a lot stronger. I was playing senior football from the age of about 16 and obviously I came from non-league which helped me get stronger and adapt to the physical game and it's got me where I am today. It's taken me a long time but I finally got there.

WL: You joined Peterborough in 2008 as your first full time club, are you grateful that they took the chance on you?

SB: Yeah definitely. I owe a lot to Darren Ferguson (Peterborough Manager) and Peterborough. Like you said, he took a chance on me. I was playing Conference South football at the time and he developed me and made me a better player. He's been a big part in getting me where I am.

Ferguson gave Shaun his chance

WL: After Posh, you joined Millwall, firstly on loan before the move was made a permanent one. Unfortunately you have been blighted by injuries, do you feel these injuries are behind you now?

SB: Yeah, it was a major injury and I picked up a number of little niggles here and there since that major injury. Pre-season is really, really important for me where I've missed so much football. I still get the little niggles here and there but, instead of last year where they were putting me out for three weeks and sending me back to square one, I'm now out for two days, maybe three days and then I'm back in training again. My body is now adapting that little bit more and I'm getting back to the player I was when I signed and hopefully my best form is next to come.

THE FLYING BATT: Shaun in full flight

WL: You of course played for Crawley on loan from Millwall for a part of last season, was that an enjoyable time for you?

SB: It was yeah, very enjoyable. I would have liked to have perhaps played more but like I've said, I'd been out for a long time and Crawley were chasing promotion at the time. I was grateful to Crawley for taking me and the month that I was there, it helped me when I went back to Millwall. I also managed to play a few games at the end of the season for Millwall so yeah, I'm very grateful.

WL: Of course your brother Damian is at Oxford at the moment, could he play at a higher level in your view?

SB: Yeah, sure. If you ask any footballer then they'll tell you he's the better one out of the two of us! He's a very good player and every day he's trying to get to as high a level as he can and whether it's at Oxford or somewhere else, hopefully that will come.

Brother, Damian is a right back for Oxford

WL: Have you played against him before?

SB: We've never actually played against each other. I did play against Oxford for Peterborough a couple of years back but unfortunately he was injured at the time so never played!

WL: Finally, you''re 25 now, what does the future hold for Shaun Batt?

SB: Who knows? I've got a few goals and aims that I want to achieve in my career. I'm lucky to have achieved a lot of things in the short space of time that I've been in the professional game. Hopefully this season I'll play some regular football and get maybe 30-40 games under my belt and then kick on. I'd love to play in the Premier League, I'd love to represent my country so those are things I'd love to be able to achieve when I look back on my career.

Shaun and me

Many thanks to Shaun for taking the time out to speak to me.