Mick Kearns proud of life after playing at Walsall

When that person in question is Walsall legend Mick Kearns, it's hard not to fall off your seat.

It's not that the 62-year-old isn't proud of his 322 appearances for the Saddlers or his 18 caps for the Republic of Ireland, far from it.

No, it's the context of the comment which is crucial because for all his achievements on the pitch, Kearns is most proud of his post-career efforts and his work as Walsall's community director.

The always modest Kearns said: "I'm probably starting to sound like Mother Teresa aren't I? But the community programme has meant so much more to me.

"I have a lot of pride that I represented Walsall as a player but deep down my real pride is the success of the community programme in the last 24 years.

"Forget about my football career, I'm more proud of the success of the community programme."

When Kearns last week announced he would be retiring from his dual roles as community director and goalkeeping coach, it heralded a raft of tributes.

That should come as no surprise for a man who, thanks to his seemingly endless list of roles include magistrate and FA disciplinary panel member, has become something of a Walsall institution.

It was July 1973 when Kearns jumped into his Volkswagen Beetle and made a journey from hometown Banbury to the West Midlands, which would transform his life.

Signed from Oxford United by then manager Ronnie Allen, Kearns spent the next six seasons at Fellows Park before departing for a three-year stint at Wolves, then in the First Division.

For Ireland, he played along giants of the game including Liam Brady and Johnny Giles but when describing his own career and ability, Kearns is typically honest.

He said: "I was never one of the best goalkeepers in the world. But I was a good organiser.

"While I enjoyed my time at Wolves, Walsall was my club. When I finished there and had the chance to come back, I jumped at it.

"I knew my international career might not last that long and Walsall was my bread and butter, they paid my wages."

Kearns began coaching, a "natural move" as he calls it, in 1982 after returning to Walsall from Wolves.

He finally hung up his gloves in 1985, having played his final five games on a non-contract basis while also working as a steward at Aldridge Working Men's Club.

But it was in 1989 that Kearns began what he believes is his greatest work for the club.

Walsall were among the first clubs to establish a community programme and he was asked by then chairman Barry Blower to set it up.

More than two decades on, the programme employs more than 20 staff members and runs a multitude of schemes across the town.

Kearns said: "The community role is so diverse, you can get up one morning and be coaching schoolchildren, you can get up the next day and be working with people from the Princes Trust, the day after that it's pensioners.

"If I was getting Walsall FC to improve someone's life, that was a success."

Walking away from a job he is so passionate about was, admits Kearns, not easy.

But, while he may be stepping down from his full-time roles, he will maintain a presence at the club in his new post of match-day host.

By Matthew Maher