In this episode we are joined by Blackpool wing-back Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel.
The 25-year-old discusses the tough time he experienced as a youth player at Arsenal, his development with Nottingham Forest, and which players he idolises.
He also explained why he didn't celebrate his goal in a recent FA Cup tie at the City Ground.
The 25-year-old discusses the tough time he experienced as a youth player at Arsenal, his development with Nottingham Forest, and which players he idolises.
He also explained why he didn't celebrate his goal in a recent FA Cup tie at the City Ground.
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SportsTranscript
00:00 Hello and welcome to the Football First podcast,
00:02 a show all about memories of a beautiful game.
00:04 In this episode, I'm joined by Blackpool wing-back Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel.
00:07 So, first of all, mate, how are you?
00:09 Yeah, very good, very good.
00:11 Just training, so, no, very good.
00:13 Of course, you've recently returned from a long-term injury
00:16 and then over Christmas you also had a bit of illness.
00:18 So, how are you in yourself now?
00:21 Getting there. I mean, I've still got a cough.
00:23 I don't know how long that's going to last for,
00:25 but it's a 100-day cough.
00:27 But, no, it's good, obviously, like you said.
00:31 Long-term injury, so being back from that
00:33 and then over Christmas just being really ill,
00:36 which wasn't nice.
00:38 But, no, a lot better now, so ready to push on.
00:42 Yeah, you must have been gutting,
00:43 getting a few games under your belt,
00:45 getting going again and then obviously you're hit by something else.
00:48 Yeah, I don't know what it was,
00:50 but, yeah, it really hit me hard and my family as well.
00:54 I know there's a bit of illness going around at the moment,
00:56 so it's not nice, but thankfully over that, that's good.
01:01 So, now you are backing up for the league,
01:03 that's mainly behind you.
01:04 How hungry are you to push that first-team spot in the team?
01:08 Oh, massively. That's kind of all I've wanted this season.
01:12 I know I've still not been able to break through
01:16 into the league position,
01:20 but that's something that I definitely want.
01:22 I want to get starts under my belt.
01:25 I know I've played in a few of the cup games,
01:27 but everyone wants to play in the league,
01:29 so that's definitely somewhere that I want to keep pushing for
01:33 and hopefully get as many games as I can this season.
01:37 We'll get into your football first now.
01:39 I think the best place to start is,
01:40 what is your first general memory of the game?
01:43 Arsenal. That's all I remember as a kid.
01:47 Always supported them.
01:48 Used to wake up singing Arsenal songs,
01:52 go to sleep singing the Arsenal songs.
01:55 Remember going to games, to the parades and things like that.
01:59 Just everything was football,
02:01 and especially Arsenal,
02:02 especially that time that we were winning a few things.
02:07 So, it was always nice.
02:09 I'm guessing Arsenal would have been your first kit as well.
02:11 So, which one would it have been?
02:13 I think the first kit I had was the '02,
02:18 red '02 home kit.
02:20 And then I remember having the yellow as well,
02:24 yellow and blue.
02:26 And then my all-time favourite one
02:28 is probably the Burgundy kit.
02:30 Definitely up there.
02:32 So, I had them all, to be fair.
02:34 I was lucky enough to get them
02:36 and was wearing them every day.
02:39 Who were you with Arsenal?
02:40 You were very much treated when you were very young
02:42 and first getting into football.
02:43 And then you had that wilderness era
02:45 where it was like, the trophy's drying up a little bit.
02:47 So, have you been a loyal football fan
02:49 all the way through the good times and the bad?
02:52 For the good times, yeah.
02:55 Do you know what it is?
02:57 I think when I was younger,
03:01 I always followed football, watching games.
03:04 And then when you start playing football
03:07 and it's a lot, you kind of, you hear about it,
03:11 but you don't watch as much football.
03:13 And you kind of, I just concentrated on myself,
03:17 kind of lost focus on Arsenal and just focusing on myself.
03:22 But the last three, four seasons,
03:25 I've kind of kicked back
03:27 and started watching them a lot more.
03:29 So, yeah, I'm back to an Arsenal fan,
03:32 not because we're pushing up the league now,
03:35 but no, it's always nice to kind of have your eye
03:39 on your favourite team.
03:42 What sort of players were you looking for,
03:44 for influence when you were younger?
03:45 Who was you idolising?
03:47 Thierry Henry, my all-time favourite player.
03:52 Ronaldo, Cristiano Ronaldo.
03:56 And then especially when I knew
03:58 that I was going to be a right back,
04:00 it was Dani Alves.
04:04 And they're the kind of three that I've always watched,
04:07 even like YouTube, watching their best bits.
04:11 And it's mad to think that as a defender,
04:14 watching Ronaldo's and Thierry Henry,
04:17 all the skills and things like that.
04:18 But that's just the kind of person I am,
04:21 I like watching the exciting football.
04:24 So, yeah, it's better than just the head it and kick it
04:27 kind of time.
04:29 Do you find yourself watching those highlights
04:31 and thinking, "What if I was a defender
04:32 in that situation as well?"
04:33 Like, you see what Henry was doing
04:34 and think, "How would I deal with that?"
04:36 Yeah, no, exactly.
04:37 Like, watching a lot of him,
04:41 kind of even recently,
04:45 kind of looking back at certain clips,
04:47 I'm thinking I've kind of been in situations like that.
04:51 So you kind of watch what they do
04:53 and kind of like Ronaldo, for example,
04:56 when he was playing against Arsenal at Old Trafford,
04:59 when he started doing skills,
05:01 I'm thinking, "What would I do in that situation?"
05:04 Like, would I go in and try and be tight?
05:07 Would I just let him do what he wants to do
05:08 and embarrass me or what?
05:10 You just kind of try and put yourself in that situation.
05:14 You mentioned Dani Alves as well, of course.
05:17 He can do it all, couldn't he?
05:18 He could defend, but also getting forward,
05:19 he was fantastic as well in that prime Barcelona team.
05:22 So, even as a young lad,
05:25 was you just watching him thinking,
05:26 "Wow, I wish I could replicate that"?
05:28 Yeah, literally.
05:29 He's probably the first one to kind of do it.
05:33 Kind of like the modern-day full-back up and down,
05:38 creating opportunities, defending,
05:40 and he was solid all round.
05:43 Like, getting forward, you kind of knew that
05:46 he had the skills to get into certain positions
05:49 and then create an attack or goals or assists
05:53 and things like that.
05:54 So, to watch him is definitely something that,
05:58 like I said with Ronaldo and Thierry Henry,
06:01 they're exciting players.
06:03 Like, it's not just Tony Adams
06:06 where you know what he's going to do.
06:07 The ball comes, he's going to head it, kick it.
06:10 Like, Dani Alves is someone that creates opportunities,
06:15 tackle, sly tackle, just different things.
06:18 And his all-round game was kind of like,
06:20 "Wow, that is what I want to be like."
06:23 What would have been the first match you attended as a fan?
06:26 God, do you know, I think it might have been
06:31 a Crystal Palace match.
06:34 It was, I can't remember what it was.
06:36 It was like all the old-school players,
06:38 I think Ian Wright played in that as well,
06:41 at Selhurst Park.
06:44 I can't remember what game it was now,
06:47 but I think it was a Crystal Palace game.
06:51 What was the atmosphere like at that?
06:53 Were you sort of taken back by it,
06:55 first time on a football ground,
06:56 just the noises and everything that goes with it?
06:59 Yeah, no, of course it's different.
07:01 Walking around the stadium is always nice,
07:03 but as soon as you kind of peer through and see the pitch
07:07 and see how big a football ground is inside,
07:10 it's like, "Wow, it's definitely something special."
07:16 I mean, and then it's like when you first step onto a pitch,
07:20 like an actual stadium, it's that kind of same feeling.
07:23 It brings back those kind of memories.
07:26 Like, football grounds are special.
07:30 And then when you have amazing fans,
07:31 it just takes it to another level.
07:34 Obviously, you mentioned stepping out onto a pitch,
07:37 that big stadium, but what was your first time stepping out
07:40 just as a youth player, as a youngster,
07:43 getting on the ball at your feet?
07:44 Was it natural for you, football, do you think, straight away?
07:47 "Oh, yeah, I'm all right at this"?
07:48 Yeah, obviously I had a brother that's two and a half,
07:55 three years older than me, so I was always playing with him,
07:59 always wanted to play with the older kids.
08:01 Always wanted to kind of challenge myself.
08:06 I was just always in that situation, which was nice,
08:09 and I kind of enjoyed it, because a lot of the time
08:14 I was better than some of the other kids.
08:16 So to hear them like, "Wow, he's a good player,"
08:19 it was always nice.
08:21 So always playing with older kids kind of helped in a way.
08:27 How soon did you realise that you were better than other kids,
08:30 that you were better than kids older than you as well?
08:32 I don't know.
08:35 When I kind of played in the park,
08:36 and you're playing with other kids, older, some younger,
08:39 and you just... the freedom.
08:42 You don't have anyone telling you, "Do this, do that."
08:44 You're just doing what you want to do, and being creative.
08:49 That's the time I thought, "I enjoy football."
08:53 I never thought, even up to now, I speak to people,
08:58 I don't think I've ever thought, "Oh, you're a great player."
09:03 Even as a kid, it was just something I enjoyed doing.
09:07 So, yeah, it's always nice to hear compliments and things like that.
09:12 But I try and keep my head on the ground
09:15 and never know what's around the corner.
09:18 You mentioned you love Arsenal.
09:20 So what was it like being in the youth set-up there
09:23 and sort of experiencing that kind of thing first-hand
09:25 and being a part of it?
09:28 Well, when I first heard about going to Arsenal,
09:33 it was obviously massive for me,
09:35 because I've always supported them.
09:41 So to go there was amazing.
09:44 But I think my time there, I've always felt that technically.
09:48 I'm not like other people.
09:51 That's what I felt there.
09:53 And obviously, where they're so technical,
09:56 I just didn't feel like I was at their level.
09:59 So I was always trying to work harder.
10:03 In a way, it just kind of made me feel bad,
10:08 because I just always thought I'm not good enough to be here.
10:13 And the coaches had their favourites,
10:17 and it was just never nice.
10:21 So you get people picking on you,
10:23 or you can't do this, you can't do this,
10:26 you can't do what I can do.
10:27 And it just sucked all the fun out of it.
10:33 So it's a shame that that's my experience of being at Arsenal.
10:39 I mean, a lot of the time when you're playing against big teams
10:42 and things like that, it's nice.
10:44 But that was what my experience was like at Arsenal.
10:48 As much as I love the club, I just didn't enjoy my time there,
10:51 because I never felt that I was good enough.
10:55 Did you want to continue in that time,
10:56 or did you think maybe it worked for you,
10:58 maybe step away from it,
10:59 or was you always focused on going somewhere else?
11:02 It was difficult because, obviously, that's the club that I loved.
11:10 Always, you want to be at the best team possible.
11:16 All my friends, family knew that I played at Arsenal,
11:19 so to come away from there was like,
11:22 what will people's reactions be?
11:25 So when I had a meeting with Liam Brady,
11:28 he kind of said, "Look, we don't know whether you're good enough."
11:33 Got to a point where it was like,
11:35 "Well, we don't know what to do with you,
11:37 because we can't see you being an Arsenal player."
11:40 And then just kind of came to an agreement
11:43 that I was to leave Arsenal.
11:45 So obviously, it wasn't nice to kind of think,
11:49 "Well, what am I going to do now?"
11:54 Went to Tottenham for a few days,
11:58 and I didn't know what I was going to do,
12:01 because I didn't want to be in that situation again.
12:04 So one of my old coaches at Arsenal was then at Southend,
12:11 and he said, "I will come down."
12:12 And I thought, "OK, well, I'll do that."
12:15 And I started to enjoy football again.
12:18 Got the freedom, because I went from playing centre mid.
12:22 That's where I started as a kid, at centre mid,
12:27 to then going to Arsenal,
12:29 then going straight to centre back,
12:32 because they saw my dad's height and thought,
12:35 "Well, your dad's tall, so we'll put you there."
12:39 And then obviously going to right back.
12:42 And when I went to Southend, just everything kind of went.
12:46 Just the freedom was just there to enjoy myself,
12:49 and that's what I did.
12:51 And then I ended up playing right mid,
12:53 played as a striker,
12:55 and just really enjoyed playing football again.
12:57 So it was nice, and that was definitely needed.
13:01 I found like I was a big fish in a small pond,
13:08 whereas when I was at Arsenal,
13:10 I felt like a tiny fish in the ocean.
13:13 - When, obviously, you left Southend,
13:15 you went to Forest, how excited did that make you feel?
13:18 Or was you a bit nervous, like it was going to another big club?
13:22 - Do you know what? I was kind of excited,
13:25 because I had a few teams that were interested,
13:30 like Norwich, Chelsea,
13:36 not enough forests.
13:37 And I looked at the options,
13:41 and I thought, going to Chelsea again.
13:45 Okay, yeah, big club,
13:47 probably earned a lot of money there.
13:52 Norwich, it was okay.
13:54 It was far from home, in the middle of nowhere.
13:59 And then Forest, I just,
14:02 I looked at Forest and I thought, yeah.
14:04 At that time in my life as well,
14:06 I think I was, what, 15, 16.
14:10 I kind of wanted to move away from home.
14:13 So I kind of thought, well, there's an opportunity there,
14:16 and signed a long contract.
14:17 And yeah, it was good.
14:19 - Did you grow up a lot in terms of your football
14:22 and personal life, moving away from home,
14:23 and going for that whole new experience elsewhere?
14:26 You could have played it safe,
14:27 but you went somewhere to test yourself.
14:30 - Yeah, no, 100%, you have to grow up massively.
14:33 First year, I went into digs,
14:35 so a house with the lap like this,
14:39 about 10, 15 other lads,
14:43 all in a house together was good,
14:47 but you're more, you happen to be more independent.
14:49 Obviously coming back a lot when you can
14:54 to see like friends and family.
14:56 But a lot of the time you are away from home.
15:00 And I never kind of, I never missed home,
15:03 as mad as you kind of think that would be.
15:06 I never missed it.
15:07 Obviously I kind of missed the people,
15:09 but I didn't miss being at home.
15:12 And then the second year I moved,
15:14 moved out with Brennan Johnson's family, which was nice.
15:19 Kind of felt like it was a proper home.
15:24 So it was nice, kind of still had that independence,
15:29 just have to grow up really quickly.
15:32 And then obviously I had my daughter at the age of 19.
15:36 So, and then again, having to grow up a lot quicker,
15:41 just, it seems like you always having to,
15:44 always having to change where as a lot of other players,
15:48 they don't have to worry about certain things
15:50 and they don't have to grow up as quick.
15:53 Some people still live around the club
15:56 or they still have to move away,
15:57 but they're with their friends.
16:00 But where I had more responsibilities,
16:04 you do have to grow up a lot quicker.
16:06 - How special was that time,
16:09 obviously you mentioned becoming a father,
16:11 obviously you'd have made your professional debut
16:13 with Forest.
16:14 How important was that club?
16:15 And obviously you mentioned you didn't enjoy your time
16:17 at Arsenal.
16:18 How much did you enjoy sort of that growing up period
16:20 and coming of age at Forest?
16:22 - It was a good experience.
16:24 Obviously when I first joined,
16:28 I was always, I think it was three weeks in
16:31 and I was already training with the first team.
16:33 And that was special.
16:35 Obviously, training with the likes of Henry Lansbury
16:38 was definitely something that I loved
16:42 because I knew it was at Arsenal.
16:44 I knew it was someone that I kind of like idolised.
16:48 And then always playing with the older kids,
16:52 always the like under 21s at the time,
16:57 training with the first team,
16:58 going away on tour with the first team from a young age
17:02 was always nice.
17:04 So you're learning a lot quicker
17:06 and that helps always physically
17:11 playing with bigger, stronger, older players.
17:14 So it was good.
17:15 My time there was really good.
17:17 And you had so many people around you who cared.
17:20 When you needed a kick up the backside,
17:22 then they'd give it to you.
17:23 And then sometimes when you need an arm around the shoulder,
17:26 like you'd get that.
17:28 So there's just a lot of people there who cared
17:32 and even down to like the dinner ladies,
17:36 like everyone was just there to support each other.
17:39 So Forest will always be a special place in my heart,
17:44 especially because I was a kid to leave in as a man.
17:49 So you're learning.
17:50 I've learned a lot from there.
17:52 - Did they help you grow in confidence just that period?
17:55 - Yeah, I think it did.
17:57 I mean, I had a lot of injuries there.
17:59 I did my MCL, ligaments in my ankles, groin issues.
18:04 So it was a lot of stop and start.
18:10 But when you get going, it's a good feeling
18:13 because they believe in you.
18:14 So it was nice.
18:18 And then obviously playing under certain managers
18:21 or being involved in training around certain managers
18:24 was also good.
18:26 Different philosophies, different teammates,
18:29 'cause you know what Forest likes, a lot of players.
18:32 So it was good and you do grow in confidence,
18:36 especially to get my,
18:38 well, especially where I got my debut as well.
18:41 - I'm guessing it was special to go back there
18:43 in the FA Cup third round
18:44 and just obviously play on the opposite side.
18:47 - Yeah, no, exactly.
18:48 Obviously that wasn't the first time back
18:50 'cause when we were in the championship,
18:52 we played there, a bit of a mixed reception
18:56 the first time around.
18:57 But then this time it was kind of,
18:58 we're there, that is the job.
19:00 We will obviously want to win
19:02 and get into the next round.
19:03 And just obviously your emotions are kind of,
19:07 they're there, but you block them out.
19:10 So to be able to do what we did was good.
19:15 And obviously we got an opportunity
19:17 to have a better result against them.
19:21 But obviously it's always nice to score as well.
19:24 So yeah, it was a good feeling.
19:27 - Yeah, it was a fantastic header.
19:30 Probably not one we'd associate with you too often,
19:32 but you chose not to celebrate.
19:33 What was the thinking behind that?
19:36 - That was a good goal.
19:37 I don't know, like I said, like I've described,
19:40 it's a big place in my heart, especially the fans.
19:45 If it's at Bloomfield Row, it's a bit different
19:49 because the majority is Blackpool fans,
19:52 but it's just respect.
19:54 Obviously I respect the fans.
19:56 I know they've got mixed emotions,
19:58 especially how I left the club.
20:00 They're probably my message that I posted on social media.
20:04 But like I said, I've got respect for the club.
20:07 But yeah, I don't think I didn't enjoy the goal.
20:12 So it was definitely a good moment for me.
20:16 - If you can repeat it at Bloomfield Road,
20:18 you mentioned obviously being at home.
20:20 Would the reaction of the fans and the majority of the team
20:23 sort of take you away a little bit more,
20:25 sort of forget yourself for a moment?
20:26 - No, I'd probably end up just losing it.
20:30 Probably run around the whole of Bloomfield Road.
20:34 But no, it's obviously, it'll be a lot different,
20:37 like I said, with our fans.
20:40 It's there and you want to celebrate with your fans.
20:44 So yeah, we'll see what happens
20:47 and hopefully get a chance to celebrate with them.
20:50 - How exciting is the prospect of this game?
20:52 I know you've faced Forrest a few times with Blackpool,
20:54 but this is the biggest gap between the two.
20:56 It really is a Premier League giant against an underdog.
20:59 So it must feel special going into this one.
21:02 It must feel good around the camp.
21:04 - Yeah, no, of course.
21:05 Obviously we know what we want to do,
21:07 what we want to win.
21:09 Obviously they've drawn the games early,
21:12 so we know who we'd be playing up against
21:15 and it's either West Ham or Bristol City.
21:19 Either one of them would be nice.
21:21 Obviously we want to go as far as we can
21:23 in these competitions,
21:25 all competitions we want to go far in.
21:27 So obviously it's a big club.
21:31 Taking out my personal experience,
21:33 they're a Premier League team with good quality players.
21:37 So we'd love to obviously turn them over
21:40 and get a result against them.
21:42 - During time at Forrest,
21:43 you entered a couple of lawn moves,
21:45 Scunthorpe and then Blackpool.
21:46 So how did they help you?
21:48 And did they really lay the foundations
21:50 for what you've gone on to do?
21:52 - Yeah, no, of course.
21:53 Like every club that I've kind of been at,
21:56 I've enjoyed my time,
21:58 especially at Scunthorpe.
22:00 I was only there for a short period of time
22:02 because that was when COVID hit.
22:06 So that got cut short,
22:07 but that was my first experience of proper,
22:12 like, men's football.
22:15 So it was a wake-up call,
22:17 but it was definitely something that I enjoyed,
22:20 I needed to do,
22:21 because I was kind of pushing on at that age
22:23 where I needed to play football.
22:25 So I enjoyed my time there and obviously COVID hit.
22:30 So obviously everyone's in their houses,
22:34 doing our programmes and things like that.
22:36 And then to hear at the end of COVID
22:38 that there's an opportunity to go to Blackpool on loan.
22:43 And that was definitely,
22:46 definitely something that I was looking forward to.
22:49 So, and then, yeah,
22:50 I think we had a great season and got the club promoted.
22:53 - What was your first impressions of Blackpool,
22:55 Bloomfield Road and just the fan base in general?
22:58 - It's a lot different to what people say about Blackpool.
23:01 It's a great place.
23:04 It's just a proper loving club
23:06 and a lovely, loving part of the country.
23:09 Everyone's there supporting each other.
23:11 Everyone's supporting Blackpool.
23:12 So no matter where you go,
23:14 you kind of do get spotted a bit,
23:18 but everyone cares.
23:19 And whether we've been in good times
23:24 where we've won a lot of games
23:25 or we've lost a few games and it's not been so great,
23:30 but everyone's stuck together.
23:33 That is the good thing about the club.
23:36 Like everyone in Blackpool wants the same thing
23:40 as the players and as the staff do.
23:42 We want to win games.
23:44 Obviously it's always nice to have like exciting football,
23:49 but sometimes it's just winning the game,
23:52 no matter what,
23:53 like getting three points,
23:55 climbing up the ladder.
23:57 And that's just the main thing.
23:59 So that's something that we're working on
24:01 and obviously hoping to keep climbing.
24:04 - Well, you have enjoyed a big day out with the club.
24:07 Obviously we play a final at Wembley against Lincoln.
24:09 You was on the bench for that one.
24:10 So what was that experience like?
24:12 - Oh, it's different.
24:14 Obviously the only time that I ever went to Wembley
24:17 was to do a tour.
24:20 So to go there and actually be a part of a day like that
24:25 is just something special,
24:27 even from leaving the hotel to travel towards Wembley,
24:31 you've got all the fans outside,
24:32 screaming, singing,
24:34 seeing flares going off, flags everywhere.
24:37 Just really had that oomph about it.
24:41 So obviously we go there and obviously on the bench,
24:46 obviously I wanted to,
24:48 I would have loved to play in that game,
24:51 but it wasn't meant to be.
24:54 We won the final, we won the game.
24:56 So it was an amazing experience
24:59 and a great opportunity to be involved in.
25:02 - Was you always determined to return permanently
25:05 after that and be a part of the championship campaign,
25:07 the club, was you desperate to be involved?
25:10 - Yeah, no, of course.
25:12 The main thing I wanted, I wanted to be playing games.
25:15 So enjoying my time off that I had after Wembley
25:22 and then going back into Forrest,
25:25 not knowing what's going to happen
25:27 'cause I kind of had a conversation with the gaffer
25:33 after the final, kind of seeing where things could go.
25:38 And I didn't know, I said,
25:40 look, you're going to have to speak to Forrest.
25:42 I'm not sure, obviously I love this place
25:45 and I've really enjoyed my time here.
25:48 So I would conversation, see where things go.
25:52 And then we started the season at Forrest playing games.
25:57 So I kind of thought at this moment in time,
26:00 there's no chance I'm leaving.
26:03 And then all of a sudden after the Derby game,
26:06 I think I got a call at six, seven o'clock in the morning
26:11 saying, ah, you've been sold to Blackpool.
26:14 So it was a massive shock to me
26:16 'cause I didn't expect it.
26:18 Obviously a load of mixed emotions.
26:20 Yes, I'm coming back to Blackpool and wait,
26:23 why is Forrest all of a sudden just sold me like that?
26:26 It was, my head was all over the place.
26:28 So at that time I was in Kent,
26:31 so I had to travel from Kent all the way up to Blackpool
26:35 to do my medical and sign things.
26:37 So it was, at the end of the day, it was a good day
26:40 and I was obviously happy to be back.
26:43 - Does this current group,
26:45 and also there's a few players who was in the last
26:46 League One playoff winning season,
26:48 but does this current group have what it takes
26:50 to make that push on the playoff places
26:52 and hopefully have another good day at Wembley?
26:55 - Yeah, looking at this team,
26:57 it's definitely, there's more than enough quality
27:00 to push and get promoted.
27:04 Obviously looking at the two sides,
27:07 one that we had from the last time to now,
27:10 I'd probably say that this team better than that one,
27:13 but we need to win games.
27:16 That's all it is, no matter if your team's better
27:19 than what it was before.
27:20 As long as you need to win games,
27:23 if you're not winning games,
27:24 then there's no point having a better team than last time
27:27 'cause we got promoted that time.
27:29 So we just need to stick together,
27:31 show the quality that we've got,
27:33 the personality and really push.
27:36 - I'm sure you want to repeat
27:38 of all Wembley night celebrations.
27:41 - No, I'd rather go up automatically.
27:43 Obviously Wembley is a good feeling and a good buzz,
27:49 but as a player, you just kind of want,
27:52 you want to go up automatically, but it's fun.
27:56 You wouldn't want another day out in Wembley, eh?
27:58 - Just finally to finish the podcast,
28:00 we always ask this one,
28:01 if you could change any of your football first,
28:04 anything we've talked about, what would it be?
28:07 - If I could change anything,
28:08 it would have to be injuries 'cause it's horrible.
28:13 I don't think I'd wish them upon people that I don't like.
28:18 It's just nothing worse 'cause you can't change them
28:23 and it slows you down as a player mentally,
28:25 it gets you down physically.
28:28 Are you the same person as you were before?
28:30 You don't know.
28:32 So the only thing I'd change is injuries
28:35 is the worst thing about football
28:37 'cause it can end your career just like that.
28:41 So other than that, obviously I am where I am
28:44 and that's playing for a great club like Blackpool.
28:48 So what more could I ask for?
28:50 - Perfect. Thank you very much for joining me.
28:53 - Perfect. Thank you.