Is it true that you were forced to choose between football and life as an electrician?
It wasn’t exactly a choice because I wasn’t actually going to sign for Rochdale – it was intended to be a non-contract deal. I was an apprentice electrician at the time, and when I finished work I would turn up at Rochdale wearing overalls. I was often on the bench and think I only played a handful of games over the next two years. And no, I never had to fix any electrical appliances at Spotland! I wouldn’t have been trusted anywhere near anything like that. I never fully qualified and it was in the final year of my apprenticeship that Crewe came knocking.
How did that Crewe move transpire?
It’s quite funny: I scored against Crewe in
