Big Interview: Micheal Collins preparing for life after football

(Picture: Action Images)

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RIGGER boots, hard hats, high-vis vests and spreadsheets. Michael Collins is preparing for life after .

Twelve months since the former and midfielder last kicked a ball in , the phone remains silent.

Cash is running out. Legs are seizing up. The only offers on the table are from part-time sides in the National League.

Having clung to the fading hope that an side will ride to the rescue, he is gradually accepting that a new life in the family business may be his best bet.

“They do a lot of modular construction,” explains the Yorkshireman, now 30. “Changing rooms and classrooms in schools, things of that nature. Everything from design to build.

“I actually had a ‘trial' working there this summer. Not as an employee, just as an observer to see how it all works.

“All I did was shadow my brother at the office and learn the administrative stuff. But I've got cousins who are out on site.

“Since I left school, I've only known the football environment. Seeing something like that was like looking into a world I've never experienced.

“Was it a blessing? No. At the end of the day, I'd rather be playing football, but it did relax me. It took the panic out of retirement.

“One of the biggest fears for footballers is that sudden realisation of ‘Right, what the hell am I going to do when I pack in?' I'm not scared now. I've seen that life goes on. I've seen how quickly you can adapt. I can see a path.

“Now, I can decide what I want to do football-wise without the pressure of knowing it's my only source of income. If that's full-time, great. If not, I'll get on with it.”

Iron Mike: Collins patrolled the Scunthorpe midfield during his career. (Picture: Action Images)
Mike: Collins patrolled the Scunthorpe midfield during his career. (Picture: Action Images)

Collins is among thousands of players for whom the transfer window failed to yield a suitor. For every Paul Pogba or Sadio Mane, there are countless others condemned to fruitless trials, lonely gym sessions and false promises.

As in so many cases, dumb luck played a big part. After his young family failed to settle in , Collins negotiated a move closer to home, only for the manager to lose his job.

Stranded and unemployed, he accepted an offer from Ashley Westwood, then manager of Bengaluru, to join the Indian Super League side. That was in January. “It was ridiculous really,” he laughs. “I'd left Oxford to be closer to home and ended up playing in India!

“At first, it was a massive shock. I thought ‘What have I done here?' But, after a couple of weeks, I absolutely loved it. I met some great people. They were incredibly welcoming and bent over backwards to make me feel welcome.

“I'd left my family at home which was very hard, but they did everything in their power to take my mind off it. It was actually the best experience I've had in my career.

“Unfortunately, it took me completely off the radar in England. I'd speak to clubs and the first question was always ‘Where've you been?' Even though we'd won the league, it carried no weight.”

Next came a trial at , ended by injury. Since then, nothing.

“It's funny because my cousins always used to say ‘Oh, you don't know how lucky you are playing football while we're grafting'. Going into their world really brought it home.

“I have been lucky. But, in a sense, I'm envious of them, too. Yeah, it's great to be a footballer and you are living a dream. But I think people forget that, when you've got a job in the ‘real' world, those skills can take you through to 65 and retirement.

“In football, you're on one-year contracts. One bad injury or one bad season and suddenly you don't know where the next wage is coming from.

“Don't get me wrong. We do earn more than the average person, but not so much you can go a few months without a wage.

“In the lower leagues, it isn't all golf days and holiday homes when you hang up the boots. Most people have to find work the day they pack up. It makes planning for things in life a lot harder.”

Collins has taken a personal trainer's course. “To be honest, though, it's not what I want to do,” he says. “My passion is for football and coaching. But, again, you're talking about a market that's very saturated and very insecure. I'd still need that avenue away from the game.”

Collins is lucky to have a viable fall-back option. Not every player has the safety net of a successful family business, however.

Terrier Times: Collins spent a satisfying spell at Huddersfield. (Picture: Action Images)
Terrier Times: Collins spent a satisfying spell at Huddersfield. (Picture: Action Images)

“I actually think the PFA do a decent job trying to keep lads informed of courses and training,” insists Collins, who won six caps for the Rep of Ireland Under-21s.

“Could it be pushed a bit harder? Yeah, but the fundamental difficulty will always be getting through to young players.

“I remember when I was a lad at Huddersfield, the older lads would all be saying ‘Make sure you're working on something away from football, make sure you've got a trade'.

“But you're too naive and headstrong at that age. You think football will last forever. Suddenly, it's like I clicked my fingers and I'm 30 years old.

“Now, I'm one of those older lads and I'm saying exactly the same things. At the end of the day, it's up to the player to appreciate it could all be taken away.”

So, what now? Hang on for that last shot at full-time or go part-time and put on the hard hat?

“I've waited this long,” he says. “I may as well hang fire another week or two, just in case. But I'm realistic.

“The longer I leave it, the further I am from being match fit.

“It's all very well saying ‘I'll wait for an opportunity' but if that opportunity never comes, where do you go from there?'

“I'll make a decision in the next couple of weeks but, like I say, I'm not worried now. I'm not sulking or thinking ‘Why is this happening to me?'.

“I'm not the first player this has happened to and I won't be the last. All you can do is man up, take it on the chin and get on with life.”

*This article was originally featured in The on Sunday, October 16th.

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