When I started training with West Brom as a youngster, my family did not have enough money for a car. We lived in Coventry and training was in Tipton, near Birmingham. Mobile phones were only just starting to become popular and my mum bought me one.
Every day I would get two buses from school to the railway station and then get on the train; my mum would ring to speak to the conductor, making sure I would stick right with him and not be travelling on my own. It would be the same on the way back, at 9.30pm. We had very little but she always found ways to ensure I could make the most of myself.
In my role as Hereford manager I drive about 1,000 miles a week between Grimsby, Hereford and Birmingham, where we train. We often have two games and it means time at home with my partner, Becky, and our two young children can be limited. When you get that space with them and can just switch off, immersing yourself in everything they are doing, it’s vital to make the most of it. Becky is an incredible mum: she runs two businesses alongside doing most of the childcare, and I can’t speak enough about how supportive she is. I can get stressed sometimes but she is positive, calm, composed and sees the best in people.
Partnerships like ours are sometimes hard to find when you work in this industry. I did not meet Becky until I was 32 and, until then, found it hard to sustain relationships: I was constantly on the move and everything came second behind football to me. I’ve lived in about 18 different places since I left home at 16, and you cannot take for granted that someone will want to move around with you, potentially foregoing elements of their life for your career. I did not want to put that upon someone: I wanted to wait until I felt I could lay down some roots and think a little bit more about the family side of life, while being in a position to help another person achieve their own aspirations and goals. If we had met 10 years ago, we probably would not be together.
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