Andy Marriott is a figure who is well-known by fans at 15 professional clubs in England whilst keen students of the professional game in Portugal might recognise the name too. The 36-year-old is still producing the goods, however, and was recently voted as the PFA Fans' Player of the Month for November in League Two. It has been a busy time for Marriott at York Street with the Pilgrims struggling in the nether regions of the Football League. However, two consecutive wins have lifted them out of the drop zone and givemefootball's Ian Clarkson caught up with Marriott to find out if the battle against relegation is still keeping his flame burning brightly.
Q:CONGRATULATIONS ON THE AWARD - DID YOU KNOW YOU WERE IN THE RUNNING?
A:Thanks. I knew that I had been nominated because my manager at Boston, Steve Evans, told me. But I didn't really expect to receive it. As a keeper, it is not always a position that people generally recognise. And any award like that at my age is nice!
Q:FANS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY KNOW ABOUT YOU, DID THAT HAVE AN IMPACT DO YOU THINK?
A:Yes, possibly. It's difficult to know because obviously, Boston's fans will have seen me play and our opponents' supporters too, but I don't know how many others. I would like to think that a few places where I played for a decent length of time, like Wrexham and Burnley, for instance, where I still look back on my time fondly, may have helped me. If that was the case, 'thank you'”
Q:AND YOU COUNT A PORTUGUESE CLUB ON YOUR LIST OF STOP-OFF POINTS?
A:I spent a season playing for a club called Beira Mar three seasons ago. It was a great time to be in Portugal. The Euro 2004 championships were coming up and Porto had won the Champions League. I had a great time, playing against sides like Porto, Sporting Lisbon and Benfica. In a country with a population of five million people, football is taken incredibly seriously. There are two national newspapers dedicated solely to covering the sport and it was a real experience.
Q:DIDN'T YOU FANCY STAYING OVER THERE?
A:Yes, but I had to come back for personal reasons. I was proud of the time I spent playing in Portugal but when I came back and tried to find myself a club a manager would ask 'where have you been playing?' and when I replied 'Portugal' in their First Division, not too many of them understood the level that I had played at.
Q:HOW LONG CAN YOU KEEP PLAYING?
A:Well, I love the game. I want to carry on until I'm 40, if that's possible. It would be a great achievement because that would mean I'd had 23 years in the sport I love and I consider myself very lucky to have experienced the things I have. I've experienced pretty much everything at the ends of the football spectrum. I've played in all four leagues, won five international caps with Wales and appeared in the Cup Winners' Cup too. There aren't too many players who have had that kind of broad experience. But I'm still keen to keep going. People like David James are still going strong in the Premiership and he his roughly the same age as me.
Q:HOW'S THE SEASON GONE AT BOSTON?
A:It has been a difficult season. At one stage we were really down to the bare bones. We had just 14 players and two of those were trainees. But it has picked up in the last few games. We are trying to build, but obviously the club has been denied permission to build a new ground and that has set everyone back a bit. It's been hard for the gaffer, too. The focus has been on building a new ground but when you hear on the local radio that the club is having problems financially...things clearly are difficult. The club has not got a lot of history behind it in League Football, but everyone is pulling together.
