Brentford, The World Cup And An Itch To Return To Gaelic Football

Kelly: Let's effort and get to cognize you a small spot much distant from nan pitch. Firstly, I ever for illustration asking: what were you for illustration arsenic a youngster?

Nathan: If you asked my mam aliases dad, they'd opportunity I was a headcase! I was conscionable a spot itchy, I ever had to move. I could ne'er beryllium still and relax. I ever had to do something. So they had to pain maine out. I ever wanted to beryllium successful nan writer aliases playing football, conscionable moving astir to drain my energy. I deliberation I was difficult activity for my parents, I'd opportunity it for illustration that!

Kelly: It sounds for illustration possibly it was rather a chaotic household. How galore siblings person you got?

Nathan: I've sewage an older brother, a younger sister and a younger brother. I deliberation it was conscionable a changeless conflict of maine trying to hit my older brother. It was conscionable truthful difficult because nan property difference. We each had training astatine different times and they'd beryllium moving retired of nan location and you'd hide your boots aliases they'd beryllium taking 2 cars successful different directions. It was a spot of a carnage, but you wouldn't person it immoderate different way.

Kelly: Are you still adjacent now?

Nathan: Ah yeah, of course. I talk to them much aliases little each time connected nan phone. Every chance I get to spell location I will. My mam goes to each crippled - location and away. She watches them all.

Kelly: So she flies over? Are they still successful Ireland?

Nathan: Yeah, they unrecorded successful Ireland, truthful she flies complete and she goes everyplace to beryllium fair.

Kelly: Home and away?

Nathan: Yeah.

Kelly: That is immoderate commitment!

Nathan: I know, I show her, 'listen, you don't person to' and she's like, 'no, I want to'.

Kelly: Not everyone's sewage a boy that's a Premier League footballer though... I benignant of get nan appeal!

Nathan: Yeah, I don't deliberation that she watches nan matches. I deliberation that she conscionable looks astatine maine nan full crippled and sees what I'm doing. She'll travel after, 'Why were you scratching your limb truthful overmuch successful nan match?' ... 'I don't know. How do you cognize that?'

Kelly: Aw, bless her, that's really sweet. How would your champion friend picture you?

Nathan: I'd for illustration to deliberation that they'd picture maine arsenic nan aforesaid lad I was increasing up. The first point that would popular successful their head... they wouldn't opportunity I'm a footballer. I deliberation they'd conscionable say, 'ah Nathan, he's conscionable a bully lad like... he's a spot of craic and he comes retired erstwhile he can' ... but I don't deliberation that they'd look astatine maine arsenic a footballer, which I really enjoy. And it conscionable intends erstwhile I'm pinch them, I tin conscionable beryllium myself and conscionable bask being 1 of nan lads.

Kelly: So if nan head gives you a time off, what would you do?

Nathan: It depends. If it's a weekday and it's bully weather, I'll play play pinch a fewer of nan lads present and we'll get retired successful nan sun.

Kelly: Are you immoderate good?

Nathan: I'm each right. Listen, I tin play. I'm not nan greatest, but I'm not nan worst.

Kelly: Who do you play pinch here?

Nathan: The group correct now is me, Keane Lewis-Potter, Kris Ajer, Hakon Valdimarsson. It's a bully unit because we person a batch of players and we do a small Ryder Cup-style.

Kelly: Oh nice!

Nathan: So it's unit v players.

Kelly: Wow!

Nathan: Yeah, because there's a batch of players. We did that past year. We did 18 holes successful nan morning, we went for immoderate lunch, and past we did 18 holes successful nan day and it was really bully fun. Players won, truthful convey God!

Kelly: Oh, that was my adjacent question. Have you sewage immoderate concealed hobbies?

Nathan: I for illustration cooking, truthful that's something. When I cook, I deliberation I conscionable hide astir everything. I'm conscionable successful my ain small area and my caput benignant of goes quiet, which is nice.

Kelly: Are you a bully cook?

Nathan: It depends who you ask...

Kelly: If I was asking your girlfriend...

Nathan: Yeah, she's really saying: 'Ah, you're getting amended astatine cooking!'

Kelly: That's a spot patronising!

Nathan: Yeah, and I was like... 'Does that mean I was bad?'

Kelly: Fair enough. What do group get incorrect astir you nan most?

Nathan: Maybe I get a spot of stereotypical: 'Ah, he's conscionable a footballer.' Maybe they get that and past think, 'oh, he's really beautiful bully to talk to... he's each right... he's benignant of relaxed... he's chill'.

I ever want to beryllium conscionable a bully personification arsenic well. That's important for me, conscionable to beryllium a bully person, a bully person, a caring person. As overmuch arsenic I want to beryllium nan champion footballer I tin ever be, I besides want to beryllium nan champion personification I tin beryllium and I deliberation that's thing that I ever strive towards arsenic well.

Kelly: What's nan toughest infinitesimal of your profession been? Has location been a reliable moment?

Nathan: I had 1 crippled for Brentford against Wolves and I had 2 mistakes successful nan game. I gave distant 2 goals, we mislaid 3-1 aliases thing for illustration that and I sewage battered disconnected nan Wolves fans because I'd conscionable near Wolves and nan fans had truthful overmuch to spell against me, truthful overmuch stick. I was like, 'oh my God, this couldn't person sewage immoderate worse'.

To beryllium fair, that nighttime Thomas Frank rang me and he was like, 'listen Nathan, that's astir apt nan worst crippled you'll ever person successful your career', and he's like, 'so it's only up from here'.