Mark Beesley is on the comeback trail after twisting his knee last month and hopes to be fit to play tonight and pick up where he left off before the injury.

The 26-year-old had netted three times and set up several goals for team-mates before the injury, maintaining his form from last season when he scored 11 goals for Forest Green, whom he left at the end of January, and a further seven for Cambridge United.

But having contributed to United's second place finish, Mark's season finished in the frustration and disappointment of a place on the bench at Wembley as United lost 1-0 to Exeter, and then the news three weeks later that Jimmy Quinn was to be replaced as manager.

Although surprised to learn about Quinn's departure, Beesley was pleased when he learned the identity of the man who was to take over.

"I played with Gary Brabin for six months when we were both at Chester so I knew him from then, and I think he's proved up to now that he's more than capable of doing the job," he says.

"And Cardy is a good signing for his playing ability alone. He's learning his management role but I think it's important for us that he's signed as a player as well."

Still based in his native North-west, Mark shares a house near Cambridge with Lee McEvilly, Mark Convery, and former Forest Green team-mate Anthony Tonkin.

"There's another house that four of the other lads share too, so everyone lives down here most of the time and it works well," he reveals. "We all get on well and it's OK most of the time, except when someone doesn't do the washing-up!"

Mark has also been pleased with the quality of the new players brought to the club by Brabin and feels they will help United's ambitions to gain promotion back to the Football League.

"The gaffer's brought in some very good players. Unfortunately we've lost Andy Parkinson through injury, who was a great signing for us, but hopefully he'll be back soon. And he's brought in some good young players in Chrissy Holroyd and Chris Jones, as well as the more experienced ones like Jon Challinor and re-signing Courtney and Macca.

"So the signings have all been very good, and when Pitty and Parky come back it will be like signing two new players, and to have two quick, wide players is always a bonus in this league.

"I think the manager will mix it up regarding what formation he plays and who plays up front, but it helps when you have pace, whether it's down the middle or wide, and we have a few boys with pace. Attacking football suits me and I'm all for it."

Mark had scored twice against Wrexham in the game before his injury, taking his goal tally to three for the season, and he admits it was hard to sit on the sidelines and watch two defeats and a draw before the stoppage time penalty against Grays last week ended the win-less run.

"We had a very good start to the season; we started off really well and we deserved those four wins, then we've had a bit of indifferent form lately but Sunday was a big win for us and it pushes us right back in the play-off mix.

"With two home games coming up in the space of a week it's important that we try and take points at home, and if we manage to get them you never know where we could be," says the 26-year-old.

"It's always frustrating to have to sit and watch, whether you're playing well or not, and to be injured is the most frustrating thing. No one likes just watching and it's the same for all the lads - you can't do anything when you're sitting in the stands and it's frustrating. You're itching for the team to do well and win games and it's horrible to have to sit and watch."

After three weeks on the treatment table with a twisted knee, Mark would love the opportunity to go straight back into the side and pick up where he left off, but he knows he may have to be patient: "First and foremost I want to make sure my injury is right," he warns.

"Then I just want a chance to get back in the team and try and stay in, because competition for places up front is very strong so it's important that if you get a chance in the team you try to take it and stay in."

Fellow strikers Lee McEvilly, Chris Holroyd, Danny Crow and Robbie Willmott all have different strengths to their game and Mark agrees that the potential of the different combinations is exciting.

"We've got a combination of everything - every different aspect of strike play. I think we've got it all and the gaffer has accumulated a good squad of strikers and we're all fighting for two or three places.

"Competition for places is strong throughout the squad, especially up front, and the more quality the gaffer has to choose from, the better it will be."

Lancaster-born Mark's career began as a trainee with Preston North End before he joined Chester City in 2000 at the age of 19. He spent three and a half years there, becoming a first team regular and netting 32 Conference goals in 79 starts and 17 appearances from the bench.

His 16 goals in 2001-02 helped the club survive in the Conference as he played alongside Gary Brabin and Paul Carden, but a change of manager saw a change in fortunes and 'Bees' found himself in and out of the side for 18 months before being allowed to join promotion rivals Hereford United in December 2003.

A six month spell there resulted in two goals in just four starts and eight from the bench, as Mark found it hard to break into an established line-up challenging for promotion, and he moved on to Forest Green Rovers in the summer of 2004.

Mark was a first team regular for most of his first season and scored nine goals, but then at the beginning of April he suffered a cruciate ligament injury and was sidelined until January 2006.

After a spell on loan at Lancaster the following season, Mark was recalled to Forest Green and blossomed under new boss Jim Harvey, playing regular football again for 18 months until his January transfer to Cambridge United.

Reflecting on his career so far, Mark says, "Obviously as a young player you get influenced by your parents and other people along the way, and I've played under some decent managers. When I was a kid at Preston I played under Neil McDonald, who was my youth team coach, and I've learned bits from him and every other manager, including Jim Harvey and the manager here now.

"I think you learn from all types of managers, and if you can take the good points from the good ones that help you, then it makes you a better player.

"I've always been a striker," he adds, "although over the years I think I've developed into a different type of striker. When I was younger I played more on the shoulder of defenders, but now I tend to come a little bit deeper.

"I haven't tried to model myself on anyone really, I think you just end up playing the way you feel you play best at that time."

A lifelong Everton fan, Mark says he wishes there were some good Everton strikers he could name as influences, but says "I can't remember any!"

By the time you read this, Mark hopes he will have already made a comeback appearance at York on Saturday, and he is looking forward to the rest of the season and hoping to at least match last season's achievements.

"If we can get maximum points from these next two home games we can get right back in the promotion pack. I think this season it will be wide open but we shouldn't be looking any lower than the play-offs. Crawley have been doing really well and opened up a little bit of a gap, and they'll be thinking if they can carry on winning they'll have a little gap in case they have a bad run.

"But it's still early days yet," he warns. "The so-called bigger teams are coming good again now, the likes of Rushden and Torquay and Stevenage are winning games now, and they'll be up there, so I think it's going to be the usual suspects. Teams will keep beating each other and I just hope we're up there above everyone else.

"We've got a good enough squad that we should be challenging all year, and if we're there or thereabouts come March and April we can definitely push on."

Andrea Thrussell
web@cambridge-united.co.uk

*An edited version of this interview was published in the programme for the match against Lewes FC on Tuesday 7th October, 2008.

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