Jason Roberts is looking into his crystal ball to see what the future holds and he sees a long spell in the Premier League before he hangs up his boots.
The 31-year -old Grenada international has worked his way through all four divisions in his quest to reach the elite of English football and isn’t prepared to give it up easily. It is those battling qualities that have seen Roberts play for Hayes, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Torquay, Bristol City, Bristol Rovers, West Bromwich Albion, Portsmouth, Wigan and Blackburn and snare over 150 career goals.
He has scored seven for Rovers this season in their battle against relegation and whilst currently sidelined with a stress fracture in his foot, he is making his mark with current boss Sam Allaradyce. Givemefootball’s Ian Clarkson spoke exclusively to
Roberts about what his plans are as a thirty-something professional footballer.
YOU ARE 31 NOW AND PLAYING REGULARLY IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE – WOULD YOU CONSIDER DROPPING BACK DOWN THE LEAGUES LATER IN YOUR CAREER?
I don’t know! I have worked incredibly hard to reach the Premier League playing at every level along the way. I have thought about it as I always like to seek new challenges but there is also an element of me that would like to go out at the highest level. I had to earn the right to play at every level and it wasn’t easy. I worked my way through the divisions with the teams I was with at the time and I am not sure I would want to work my way back down again.
YOU SET UP YOUR OWN CHARITABLE FOUNDATION – THE JASON ROBERTS FOUNDATION IN MAY 2007 – WHY DID YOU DO THAT?
I wanted to give something back to football. The game has given me so much both off and on the pitch that I realised it was very important to put something back. Football is really important to so many people and it can make such a difference to their lives. The Jason Roberts Foundation offers a range of choices from football coaching, after-school clubs educational opportunities and enrichment programmes.
IT IS BASED IN THE UK AND GRENADA ISN’T IT – WHY DID YOU CHOOSE GRENADA?
My father was born there and I play for the country internationally so it was an obvious choice. There isn’t the same organisation or infrastructure that is in England but people love to play football on the island. It is very popular and a good way of engaging with young people positively. I want to help in any way I can by giving people opportunities they didn’t previously have and that is what the Roberts Foundation aims to do.
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FIVE OR SIX YEARS DOWN THE LINE WHEN YOU WILL BE APPROACHING THE END OF YOUR CAREER?
I think the charity work I am currently doing will hopefully take up more time. If you had asked me about coaching then there was a time when I would have said there was no way I would continue in football once I stopped playing. However, like a lot of people before me I have reached the age where I am starting to think about it and that maybe I would like to stay involved in a coaching capacity. Four years ago I would definitely have said there is no chance but it is true that as you start to get a little bit older then you really start to consider it, so that is a definite possibility.
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