What are your career highlights?
My career highlights would be signing for Barnet at the age of 27 as a professional footballer. At the time they were playing in the old Division Three.

How would you describe yourself on the pitch and can you give us a couple of attributes?
Wow! Definitely committed and give my all for the team, and I hate losing. I can be a miserable sod if we lose and it ruins my whole weekend. If the team put in a good performance and lose, then it’s not so bad, but I just can’t stand losing. As long as everyone on the pitch gives 100% I’m fairly happy.

After playing for Thurrock last season in the Conference South, did you have any doubts about dropping down to the Ryman Division One North?
No, none at all. I thought about it long and hard, but I wanted to join up with Hakan again as I think he is a top manager, and Hasan is a great coach. I wanted to get back working with the two of them as soon as possible. We spoke last season about it, and he asked me if I would join him when he took up a new post, and I’ve stuck by him as he has with me. It works both ways and we’re good friends outside of football as well. Coming down a level was not a problem at all for me. If you look over the last few years, the level of football across the lower leagues has got so much better, so it’s not a massive difference to Conference South to be fair. Understandably there are areas of the game which are more advanced at the higher levels, but I feel this division and the Ryman Premier are catching up fast.

Why Grays?
I spoke with Andy who told me about the plans for the club, and I was really impressed with what he had to say and how the club want to go about doing things. Obviously there was the link with Hakan and Hasan, and the style of football they want to play and what they want to do. It’s a young squad, and with me getting on a bit, it’s nice to work with the younger players which allows me to pass on some of my experience.

Who has been biggest influence in your career?
Without a doubt, definitely my Dad. As a youngster, he took me everywhere I needed to be, and without him I wouldn’t have played professional football. I got to the stage in my career where I wasn’t really going anywhere, and I was close to packing up. It was my Dad who wrote to Hendon in the summer asking for a trial for me, and it was then Hendon to Hayes, before signing for Barnet.

Who is the best player you’ve lined up alongside?
That’s a tough one! I played with a lot of good players at Barnet, but I would probably say Leon Lalite who was in the youth team coming through whilst I was in the first team. He is now playing at Harlow, and I also played with him at Thurrock for a couple of years. A central midfielder who is quite short at about 5’6, but he is unbelievable. Technically excellent and his vision is something else. As well as him it would have to be Mark Gower who was at Barnet at the same time, before he moved to Southend United, now playing for Swansea City.

Who is the hardest opponent you have come up against?
When I was at Hayes and we won the league (Isthmian Premier 1995/96), I was playing at left wing-back, and Jon Brady was an Australian right wing-back playing for Rushden & Diamonds. We used to go against each other and he was a tough opponent. It was a really good hard battle, but being friends didn’t make it any easier as we used to kick lumps out of one another. He’s now manager at Brackley Town, but definitely one of my hardest opponents.

What was your impression of the club before you joined, and has it changed it any way since?
Grays Athletic is still a massive club despite what’s happened in the past couple of years. Everyone still looks at Grays, and whenever people hear the name, it’s still a big club. They deserve to be up where they used to be. It’s a young squad, but it’s got a good mix of experience as well, with a couple of my old mates from Thurrock coming over such as Craig Pope and Kenny Beaney. The likes of Jean-Michel up front, who has been around a bit, and played at a decent level will also help. All of this will help the cause as we try and get Grays back up the leagues where I feel they deserve to be. I’m really looking forward for the start of the season.

What are your thoughts and expectations for the team by the end of April?
One hundred per cent, if we don’t get promoted this year, I’d be very disappointed. The whole squad have looked at what we’ve got there, and what the club expects of us as players. I really do believe we’ll get promoted, and to be fair I’d be disappointed with the playoffs, I expect us to win the league. I’ve been at a lot of clubs and I’ve seen what facilities and people they’ve got to work with, and what we’ve got there is all set in place for us. As players, it’s our turn – we’ve got to go out there and do the business on the pitch.

We’ll catch up with Lee later on in the season.