l Many of us enjoy visiting our local non-league club at the weekend and during the week. We finish work, watch the match and head home ready for a new day. But what about the players who have to fit in their work commitments around the football? How do they do it?

The Echo will be speaking to non-league stars from across south Essex this season about how they juggle two of life’s most crucial aspects – work and football.

This week we speak to Concord Rangers right-back Jeremy Walker, 21, who has been a fixture in the team since he arrived from Tasmania, Australia in the summer.

 

SATURDAY

I give myself a little lie-in today and don’t get up until around 8am. I live in East London, and there is a great Saturday market right outside my door so I like to have a relaxing stroll and pick up some nice produce for the week.

Unfortunately I’m not driving in England at the moment, so public transport and my push-bike get me from A to B! We were away to Boreham Wood today and I tend to get myself part of the way by train and then my chauffer Danny Glozier takes me to the team bus. I think most of the team and staff have, at some point, given me a lift, although it always comes at the price of some Aussie banter or mocking how I speak, but they are a good group!

I don’t have too much support over here personally on match day, but I can count on my old man to be following it via Twitter from home in Tasmania! That’s enough for me.

I am pretty routine about my match day preparation once I’m at the ground. I get kitted up quite early so I have time to run through some pre-match exercises to get my body ready before the team talk. My only real superstition is I like to clean my teeth just before we go out for a warm up! A bit odd but it makes me feel nice and fresh. We are about 30 games into the season with Concord, but I will still cop a comment about this one each week!

The match itself was a good contest. It finished 0-0, which in the end I think was quite a fair result. As a defender it is great to come in after 90 minutes having not conceded, which makes it five clean sheets in the last nine games.

The evenings for me involve getting myself home, cooking a meal and relaxing. Saturday night is the best time for me to call home, so I spend a while chatting with family and mates. During the week the time difference is a killer.

 

SUNDAY

Today is all about recovering and relaxing. I have always had a nice BBQ breakfast back home so I try and replicate that on my stove here!

I will then either hit the pool or gym and the rest of the day I spend with mates. I love art and music and collect vinyl records. I hit the stores and market stalls to have a listen to what’s about.

I draw a lot too, (I ran a custom surfboard art business while playing professionally back home, for those Facebook users check it out; All Walks Of Life – AWOL) so at some point on Sunday I’ll have a coffee somewhere and get the pencil and pad out.

This year has been full of changes for me.

I moved here from Australia after my professional deal came to an end so I’ve started afresh.

Going back to part-time football, picking up a part time job at a sandwich bar and café in Farringdon, playing two games a week and the longer season being the biggest changes.

On non-game days I try to replicate a full-time training load while working to cover expenses. I work four days a week, which means I can still train before and after work.

 

MONDAY

I get up at 7am. I like to have a light football session at my local pitch the day before a game, so I do this before work for an hour and then head home for breakfast. I have a 20-minute ride to and from work. After work I will do an injury prevention programme in the gym along with some stretching. I’ll head to the café to relax and do some drawing before I head home.

 

TUESDAY

I took this Tuesday off work so I can focus on the match against Whitehawk tonight.

I had a walk in the morning, a late breakfast and then relaxed. I got myself to the team bus in Thurrock for 4.30pm so I left around 3pm.

Luckily for him, Glozier is off gallivanting on a mid-season skiing trip somewhere in France so I got myself most of the way. Steve King ended up picking me up from a train station in the end and we had a short drive to the Thurrock pick-up.

Whitehawk is a long journey south, but we are having a decent run at the moment and so a big result here was going to set us up well. We defended well on a tough pitch and created some great chances. We conceded an unlucky goal quite late and because of this the 1-1 result felt like a loss to most of the players. But stepping back from the match, it’s a good point at a good side.

Long away trips in the week are a bit of a graft for me getting home. The team bus usually gets back after the last trains. This means a lift and a couple of night buses takes my Tuesday night through to the early hours of Wednesday. This week I got in at 2.30am!

 

WEDNESDAY

I’m up at 7am in the gym or pool for recovery before work.

After work I’ll catch up with a mate and have a light football session at the local followed by yoga at 8pm every week to finish my Wednesday!

Hopefully after a small break from the league we can continue our good recent form and make the final of the Essex Senior Cup!