- Position: Goalkeeper
- Joined Wolves: 1998 & 2018
- Profession: PE teacher
ON THE PITCH
Journey to Wolves
I was playing at school when it was mixed with the boys and then I ended up playing for Walsall District. At one of the games, we had a scout from Wolves come over and got offered to go down there and got offered a place with the club. I was playing outfield at the time and I didn’t go in goal until I was about 14 or 15.
Joining the club
I was at West Brom for eight years, left there and went to Nottingham Forest for two. The travel wasn’t the best, so Macca [Dan McNamara] ended up messaging me and asking me to come along to training and it just felt like home, so I came back.
Biggest influence
I love David Beckham and from the off, he’s always been my role model and he still is. As a kid, all I wanted to do was be just like him. I wanted to play right wing and obviously, it didn’t turn out that way, but he’s still influenced me. Every bit of spare time I had as a kid I’d come home and spend time kicking the ball at the wall outside the house for hours driving the neighbours insane. It was watching him and following his football that got me involved.
Being a Wolves player
It’s really good. I just want to be a good role model for the kids I work with as they don’t come from amazing backgrounds, so to give them something to hold on to by seeing me play means a lot.
OFF THE PITCH
Making a living
There are good days and bad days. I’ve worked with quite a few difficult children and a lot of SEND children as well. It’s really rewarding at times and I love it. Even when I was younger, as a kid, I wanted to be able to give children what I didn’t have. We didn’t have lots of PE equipment when I was at school, so now being able to give them something to enjoy and a safe place if they’re struggling at home is my main priority.
Balancing job and football
It’s hard. It’s really hard. If it’s been a challenging day at work, you’ve got to find that energy and that push to then go to training and put in as much as you can there, so it is really hard at times. But I think the enjoyment of football gives you that push to go there and get through that tired stage.
Football conversations at work
Working in a school, the kids take a really good interest. I’ll go in on a Monday and they’ll ask how we’ve got on, they’ll watch some of the past games on YouTube and all things like that. I’ll turn up to work and I’ll have parents who don’t know too much about football, but they’ll always ask me about how my games have gone.
Hobbies and downtime
I like shopping. I tend to use my Saturdays as a day that if I want to do something I’ll go out and do it. On Friday’s, I’m that tired I’ll just chill and watch a series or film and then get what I need to do done on a Saturday and then relax again. If I’m not at football and not at work, then I’m probably just resting up at home as it doesn’t leave a lot of free time.
What does being a female footballer mean to you?
It means quite a lot. Obviously, it wasn’t when I first started, so to see where it is now crazy. Last season when we were playing our FA Cup games on YouTube, to be getting messages off people that watched the games from outside the local area, it shows how far women’s football has grown. To be a role model for the girls especially, and to use that to push girls to be involved in football clubs at schools, it’s a big thing.
