You made your Rovers debut on the 16th April 2004, an away game at Harlow Town in the Southern League. That team contained a few Rovers legends such as Danny Scopes and Dan Trenkel. What do you remember about joining the club and that game?
Any player joining an established football club finds it a little daunting, moreso when there are stalwart players such as Scopesy and Trenks. I knew I'd always be accepted at the club and playing alongside some of our 'legends' was only going to help me as a player.
So, the match, well, apart from giving the penalty away which cost us the game, it was a great feeling !!!

You've played under a few Rovers management teams. Do you have a favourite?
Obviously I can't say Willow otherwise the lads would bury me. But I really enjoyed playing under Iain O'Connell, along with Dave Patients, Ryan Wilkinson and Cleve Taylor. Iain gave me the captaincy when there were more older & experienced players capable of doing the job, and for me, at the time, it was a great honour.
He was always giving me advice and has now become a great friend. We had a great few seasons including getting to the Essex Senior Cup Final at Roots Hall. If I'm being honest we should have pushed on from there but it was a shame we couldn't keep hold of that squad. That said, the majority did move on to bigger clubs, so it was all about player progression.

Best player you've played with at Rovers?
Now that's a really tough question. I can list quite a few, including James White, Danny Scopes, John Heffer, Dan Trenkel, Sam Clarke, Neil Richmond, Danny Pitts & many others, although I would have to say it's between Iain O'Connell and Steve Heffer.
Iain was a absolute beast at centre half, commanding vocally and in the tackle. I played next to Steve Heffer at Billericay Town and at Rovers. For such a gentleman off the pitch, he was the complete opposite on it. But I don't think he truly had a bad game at the club.

Best player you've played against?
I was fortunate enough to have played against the likes of Joe Cole, Michael Carrick & Jermaine Defoe when I was a kid at Southend Utd, but in Senior Football it would have to be Lee Boylan. When he was playing for Canvey, he was unstoppable.

You've had a few moves away from the club over your time. Was there any reason for this?
It's mainly better opportunities at the time. I've always wanted to push myself & play at a higher level but Great Wakering Rovers has always been my home.

Did you have any idea you were close to your 250th appearance milestone?
Yes. I, like a lot of players, keep track of my appearances but the milestone did come round quite quickly. I doubt I've got the legs to carry on like John Heffer, but I'll keep plugging away until they eventually decide to call it a day on me!

Has there been anything you've regretted during your football career?
Hindsight can be both cruel and kind, but I could have looked after my body and prepared for the next game a little more. Yet at our level, we're not the strict professional where having a cheeky pint is concerned. I'll admit I used to come out of the dressing room and jump straight into the clubhouse for a pint or two. I don't regret my time in football one bit though. Since I made my football debut back it 1998 I've met some great characters in the game & have some great stories to tell.

The current squad, how do you feel it is developing/coming along?
It's certainly improving as we've shown over the last few games. We've given Maldon & Tiptree, Brightlingsea and Norwich Utd all something to think about in those matches, and all three of those are pushing for promotion this season.
But the last few months have been tough and it's a real shame we've left it this late to finally gel enough where we are competing, and given ourselves a mountain to climb. All we can do now is get as many points on the board as possible until the end of the season and hope that fate is smiling down on us. We'll concentrate on our own game though, not others and if we do that, we'll be sure to get some results under our belts.