Jordan Rose : "I cleaned a fans toilet!"

In this edition we will talking to Weymouth FC centre back Jordan Rose about his inspiring journey and how it has shaped him today. Jordan was also at Havant and Waterlooville where he was promoted to the National League South at Westleigh Park. Here is his story...

Q: Jordan, can you give a brief summary of your career?

A: Played my youth football for Southampton FC, moved to France at 14 with my family and played for Stade Malherbe Caen FC, moved back to England and played for AFC Bournemouth until 19. Left Bournemouth and dropped into non league with Salisbury and Weymouth, then got a move to Stockport County at 21. Voted the young player of the year by the club and the league I moved to Hereford United following Stockport's relegation out of the football league. Went back to Stockport in the January, Signed for AFC Telford the season after that. The season after that I moved to Tamworth where I dislocated my knee in a pre-season game and was forced to take 2 years out from football to recover. Following my rehab I signed for Whitehawk FC where I spent two seasons before coming to Havant and Waterlooville.

Q: Is it true that two years prior to getting back into professional football, you worked for your mum’s cleaning business?

A: Yes. After I left AFC Bournemouth I was lost. All I knew was football and I didn’t want to do anything else. Every day I would get up and go and train on my own but looking back on that time it was just a way to ignore the inevitable of being another player that tried and failed. I can remember feeling so ashamed that I had gone from being a professional footballer to cleaning toilets for a living but my mum used to tell me everyday that it was only temporary until I figured out what I wanted to do with my life. My mum was, and still is, my biggest support system and without her I would be very different to the man you know today.

Q: Do you feel regardless of what player you are, every player should get some work experience, as it gives them life skills and some of the players even amongst the Premier League have worked including Troy Deeney as a bricklayer and Jamie Vardy as a technician making medical splints?

A: I would 100 per cent agree with this. When you grow up watching football, playing football and then working in football, it becomes your life but football is not real life. For my career I went from being told by one manager that I was. “the best player they had ever seen for my age” and, “You will make it to the top level”, then one day that manager is sacked and another manager’s opinion of you ends your career as you know it. It's not until you are thrown out onto the heap of ‘failed’ footballers that you realise there is nothing special about you and that you are just like everyone else. If anything, you are at a disadvantage. The Deeneys, Vardys, Austins of professional football are the players that inspire me the most. I know how it feels to leave my house at 7am to work a nine-hour day, go straight to training from work and get back into my house near midnight. And by far one of the worst days in my life was knocking on the door of an AFC Bournemouth fan’s house that had paid to watch me play a month before and tell him I was there to scrub his toilet! The sooner players can have an experience of ‘real life’ the better.

Q: What does it feel like to now be a National League player, being one division away from the Football League? For any player it would be a surreal feeling?

A: It’s a yes and no situation. Of course I am delighted to be back in the National League but more so for the club and the fans. I have had the pleasure of playing for Havant for two years but the club has supporters from before the merger. The real delight comes from seeing their reaction to what we have achieved and it's just a real honour to have played a small part in such a big achievement. For me the surreal feeling comes from how we have got there, not the fact that we have. Back-to-back promotions, with us winning the title in the last game of the season, two seasons in a row! That is mental, I can't think of any club/team that has done it like that. When I first joined Havant I had no doubt that the team was capable of reaching this level. Compared to other non league teams I had played for, this club blew them out of the water in terms of professionalism and as an aspiring player that is all you want.

Q: You spent your youth career at Bournemouth. Was there anyone that mentored and took you under their wing?

A: When I returned from France, I did so purely for the sake of my career. I came back to England on my own and left my family behind in my pursuit to become a professional footballer. We have a very close family and it was the hardest time in my life by far. Our coach at the time, Joe Roach, was very understanding of this and became a real father figure to me. When I moved into the first team environment there was one player that had a lot of time for me and really looked after me in and away from football. That player was Josh Gowling. He made a real impact on me as a player, he would always give me one-to-one advice and often talk me through games. Looking back now I admired him as a player, too. He was probably the first player that I watched and thought, “I want to be like him.” I am a converted centre half from a centre mid, so don’t quite fit the mould of your average centre half. Josh is a centre half who enjoys the ball at his and has limitless composure, yet has a ruthless desire to win every ball in the air and keep a clean sheet. Come match day, I used to study him playing and it wasn’t until then that I realised how I could be a centre half. Hopefully he reads this one day so he knows just how big an impact he had on my career.

Q: Who are some of the most important figures in your football career on the pitch and off the pitch as a friend?

A: The most important figures by far are my family. They have supported me throughout my career and had to sacrifice so many things just so that I had the chance to live my dream. My partner Lucy has suffered every heartbreak with me, every injury and frustration and has always been there to pick me up. My children ignite my drive and desire every single day to succeed and be better. Without them all I would have given up a long time ago. Alongside them, two of my closest friends and the godfathers to my children, Josh McQuoid and Sam Vokes. Growing up with two mates who love football just as much as you do was a dream. We would spend hours down parks, in streets, anywhere just playing football. And you can't replace the feeling of playing with two of your best friends, whether that was for our club, school, county etc. When our careers took separate paths it was hard to swallow. It is a strange feeling being truly happy that someone you love is successful whilst feeling sick with envy. Their success, however, fuelled my desire to succeed, and although I haven’t quite made it to their heights, I am still thankful that I have the career I do today.

Q: Can you explain what it was like for you when Jason Prior scored the goal that got H&W [Havant & Waterlooville] promoted? I saw that a few tears of joy were shed! A: I was in tears. Uncontrollable tears. After I missed the chance from the cross I thought that that was it and we had no time left. My heart was in my mouth, I could barely breath and all I wanted to do was cry in frustration. It wasn’t until that moment that I felt as if we had let everyone down and that we may have blown the chance to be promoted. So when I saw Theo lay the ball off to Jason, I just remember thinking to myself “hit it”, and I though at least if he got it on target the keeper might parry it to one of us in the box. When Jase connected I knew it was in and I had already started running over to him to celebrate, but my eyes had filled up and I could barely see where I was going. The shear feeling of relief was phenomenal, and I will never forget it.

Q: What was it like to play under National League South Manager of the year at the time Lee Bradbury?

A: You honestly could not ask to play for a better manager. Everyone speaks on the togetherness and team spirit at Havant but that comes from the manager. When we were at AFC Bournemouth the manager was a true professional, someone that every young player could aspire to be like. Everything he did at the club was done the right way, no corners were cut and he manages in the same way. The hours of preparation that the management team put in to give us as much information as possible on our opponents is second to none, and there is not one player that does not know what their job is or how we are going to play come game day. I can't speak higher of the man and of the manager. Not only because he has given me an opportunity to be a part of something special but also because of the impact he has had on my career.

Q: How does Jordan Rose, on and off the pitch, like to be remembered?

A: I don’t buy into this theory that you are one person on the pitch and one person off the pitch. I think too many players use that to justify the decisions they make when diving or intentionally trying to hurt someone in a tackle. I like to think that I am who I am, on and off the pitch I am the same guy. The old cliché of wearing my heart on my sleeve, signified by having my family and family crest tattooed to my skin. A player that gives you everything I have to give on the day and gives my very best for my teammates and club. A professional in every meaning of the word, regardless of the level I’m playing. A man that is prepared to do anything to protect and provide for my family... At the end of my career if I can look my loved ones in the eye and say that I truly did everything I could to succeed I will retire a happy man. Any supporters of a club that I have had the privilege to represent, already know.

Thank you to Jordan for taking part in the interview an inspiring man.