Big Interview: Nick Pope takes the long road to world stage

But, as he prepares to take his seat on a plane bound for Russia along with 22 other footballers charged with the task of representing England at this summer’s World Cup, there is not one detail Nick Pope would change about his far-from-conventional route to one of sport’s biggest tournaments.

It was 10 years ago when, aged 16, Pope was given the news that many starry-eyed aspiring footballers will be dreading this summer. His professional club was letting him go, believing he did not possess the necessary potential to eventually make the grade.

For the young goalkeeper, it was a particularly bitter pill to swallow, given the club in question – Ipswich Town – was his club. He, along with his father and elder brother, owned season tickets at Portman Road, where he admired the skill-set of future England and Arsenal gloveman Richard Wright.

However, on reflection, Pope – born and raised in the small Cambridgeshire village of Wicken, 16 miles outside of Cambridge – finds it difficult to muster an argument against his release.

“I was not good enough (at Ipswich). Another goalkeeper had come in from Norway who was seen as better than me,” he said. “He got a scholarship in front of me. Sometimes it is that plain and simple.

“At the time it is a tough one to take and something that feels like the end of the world, but academy managers and coaches are there to make decisions on what they see and that is what they saw.

“To be honest, I probably agreed with them — there is no bitterness or spite. It was the right decision.”

Milk rounds, retail work and enrolment at college followed as Pope prepared for life in the real world. As far as he was concerned, all hopes of becoming a professional footballer – let alone one with the chance of playing for his country at the World Cup – was merely a pipe dream.

And then out of the blue in 2011, while he was keeping his eye in between the posts for Team Bury and Bury Town – at steps six and four on the non-league ladder respectively – Charlton Athletic, then of League One, spotted something that had seemingly eluded the Ipswich coaching staff.

They swooped for Pope, before loaning him out on numerous occasions, during which he had to put in the hard yards at the likes of Harrow Borough, Welling United, Cambridge United, Aldershot Town, York City and Bury.

The 2015/16 season would mark his breakthrough with the Addicks, and while they were relegated from the Championship, Pope was heading for the Premier League, setting Burnley back a reported £1m.

He warmed the bench during his first campaign at Turf Moor, but an injury to Tom Heaton in September last year provided Pope with the opportunity to make his Premier League bow and the rest, as they say, is history.

Yet, it is all of those spells away from the glitz and the glamour of English football’s top flight where Pope’s talent was nurtured, providing him with the tools to keep 11 clean sheets and guide Burnley back to European football after an absence of 51 years.

Arduous Tuesday evening trips playing in front of tens – not even hundreds – of spectators against battle-hardened non-league centre-forwards looking to leave their mark – often literally – on an up-and-coming goalkeeper will make or break an individual. It was sink or swim time, and Pope stayed afloat.

“The way it has happened over the last 10 years or so has been surreal,” said the goalkeeper who had a save-to-shot ratio in excess of 75 per cent last season – only Manchester United’s David de Gea could boast better in the Premier League.

“Not only to get a call-up, but to also be part of a World Cup squad – the biggest tournament in the world – you cannot get any higher than that.

“Jamie Vardy has done a similar route, and even the other goalkeepers to a degree. Although they did the academy route, they had loan spells in League Two, Conference – leagues like that. We have had similar paths in that respect.

“You see some interesting characters along the way. Players will leave one on you, try to put you off and intimidate, but it is all part of the learning process.

“The journey that you have is the making of you and while there were some really tough moments along the way, I would not change anything about it.

“Getting released at 16, finding my way back to Charlton and then having seven or eight loans – it was all part of building me as a player and a person.

“There is nothing I would change and it is great to look back on now.”

Having come this far, the next step will be to get his hands on a coveted international cap. Gareth Southgate called up Pope for March’s friendlies with the Netherlands and Italy, but Jordan Pickford and Jack Butland – the other two goalkeepers off to Russia – were given the nod.

The suggestion is that Everton’s Pickford will be in the number one shirt when England begin their World Cup campaign against Tunisia in the Volgograd Arena on June 18, with the pre-tournament friendlies against Nigeria tonight and Costa Rica on Thursday perhaps Pope’s most likely hope of getting off the mark.

If and when his chance comes, though, Burnley’s number 29 will be ready.

“Proving yourself is what it is all about. I need to prove I belong in this squad with these top players,” he said. “I want to show the manager and the staff that I am capable of playing for England. I tried to do that in March and I am trying to do that again now.

“Whether I play or not, it is a great experience. It is a new level and so I have a lot to prove. If I do get selected it will be a massive honour and a great place to show my skills.

“Each day we (the goalkeepers) are testing each other and training as hard as we can. That is what it is all about because ultimately that is what best for the rest of the team.

“Whoever plays will have the full support of the other two keepers because the main thing is the team and being successful at the World Cup.”

And what chance of that aforementioned success? England have reached the semi-finals just once since lifting the trophy in 1966, while Pope was only 14 the last time the Three Lions featured in the last eight.

“We know what sort of squad we have and what is possible. We have a lot of top players and this squad has a real chance to go out there and show the world how good we are,” he said. “We want to go out and do the country proud, so this our chance to send out a real legacy for ourselves.

“It is a young, hungry and talented squad and the opportunity is there for us to make an impact.”