Have ‘No regrets’ is Matt Holland’s message to young players up and down the country who have hopes of establishing themselves in the professional game.
The former Ipswich Town and Charlton Athletic star who was capped by the Republic of Ireland on 49 occasions was speaking at Create Your Legacy at Reading’s Madejski Stadium where he was guesting as a motivational speaker. As I caught up with him moments before his first address of the day at 11.30am Holland gave the impression of a man very much impressed by what football is doing to help those that don’t quite make the grade.
“I wish something like this has been available to young players when I was coming through the ranks,” says Holland. “The reality is and I’ve seen it, that so many players fall by the wayside that you need to have a fall-back plan.”
As he finished his sentence the tannoy system rang out with his name summoning him to the main stage to publicise his views on what it takes to get to the top, what to do if it doesn’t quite work out and what life is like now he’s a media pundit.
Known as a whole-hearted box to box midfielder in the same mould as his hero Bryan Robson, Holland’s career in football initially didn’t go as planned. Rejected by Arsenal as a schoolboy for being too small, Bury born Holland began his career at West Ham United but in his five years at Upton Park he didn’t register a single appearance for the club.
In fact it wasn’t until he left Upton Park for Dean Court, Bournemouth, in 1995, that his career started to move on an upward spiral. Named the Cherries Player of the Year in 1996, Holland was soon attracting the attention of bigger clubs and Ipswich Town swooped for his services in 1997.
Speaking about his development Holland singled out one key factor in particular that he feels got him through the tough times and laid the foundations for his 17 year career – ‘Commitment’.
“Have the right attitude and be the best you can possibly be every single day in training or whatever else you do,” said Holland.
“One of my former team-mates at West Ham who’s a good friend of mine used to go out in the week and not always put 100 per cent in. He’s now looking back regretting that and thinking about what might have been. The key to success in any walk of life is being committed.
“Have no regrets. Be on time to work and put 100 per cent into everything you do.
“There’s no point later in life thinking back about something you could’ve done better that might have made a difference."
That mentality certainly served the effervescent Holland well. Named as captain at Portman Road he led the Tractor Boys into the top flight in 2000 and helped them into European competition after a top five finish in the Premier League the following year.
In 2003 he was on the move again, this time to South London and Charlton where he became a firm fans favourite in a seven year stint that ended with his retirement in 2009.
“I’ve lived the dream,” continued Holland, “I wanted to be a professional footballer and I was fortunate enough to do that. I’ve experienced highs and lows but you have to have determination and bounce back from any set back and always do your best.”
The one contradiction in his thinking might be the 2002 World Cup where the joy of scoring a screamer in Ireland’s opener against Cameroon quickly turned to despair in the second round when he was one of three Irish players to miss in a penalty shoot-out defeat to Spain.
While that drama was played out in front of the world on television, Holland has become accustomed to the spotlight in recent years, presenting and summarising on a variety of Football shows including BBC Late Kick Off (East), Match of the Day and Final Score.
“In my late twenties I started doing commentaries and more and more media work, I got my coaching badges and I wanted to leave as many doors open as possible in terms of what I might fall into after playing,” said Holland.
“I’m one of the lucky ones because I’ve had a long career when the average is something like 7 - 8 years but I was conscious that as time passed by I needed to think about what was next.
“Football was my passion and I’m still involved in it through the media work by going along to games or working on shows and I love doing that. I think it’s very important that you enjoy what you’re doing because if you don’t it’s probably not for you.”
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