He started out as a trainee with Torquay United, but Luke Guttridge is now a key member of Cambridge United's midfield engine room and has no regrets about the move.

21-year-old Guttridge was born in Barnstaple, Devon, and joined Torquay at the age of eleven, but although he made a brief first team appearance as a second year trainee in April 2000 he was told the club could only offer him a short-term deal for the following season.

Dale Brooks - then Youth Team manager - and former Youth Development Officer Ricky Martin had spotted Luke playing for the Gulls' youth team and offered him the chance to complete the third year of his scholarship with the U's, so he decided to uproot to Cambridge.

He recalls, "I spoke to Dale Brooks and Ricky Martin, who was here at the time, and they offered me a year, which gave me a chance to see if I liked it here and to see if they liked me. They said to see how things go and it clicked straightaway and I made my debut in the LDV in about the October, so it was nice to come in and do well.

"It took me a little while to settle in but I've never looked back and I enjoy life away from the football as well. I've found my feet now and I'm probably the happiest I've been in a long time."

During an impressive campaign in the title-winning youth team, alongside the likes of Daniel Chillingworth, Alex Revell, Franco Nacca and David Bridges, Luke was handed his first start in March 2001.

John Taylor and David Preece selected him to start in an unfamiliar wing back role for the first game after John Beck took over from Roy McFarland, and he made an instant impression by scoring in only the second minute of his league debut.

"It was unbelievable really," he smiles. "It didn't feel like only two minutes, but the ball came to me and nine times out of ten I'd probably shank it but I managed to get it in the bottom corner. It was a great feeling."

Luke progressed to become a regular in the side under Beck and then Taylor, and even weighed in with a rare goal to extend our LDV Vans Trophy run with his 'golden goal' at Luton last season.

He admits that he would like to score more goals and it was noticeable on a recent visit to the training ground that Luke was one of the players who stayed behind to practice shooting.

"Some of the lads stay on to do extra, like Aggy and Chilli and one or two of the other lads stay on towards the end of the session to do some extra work on their finishing, but I can't hit the target then or in the game!" he laughs ruefully.

"I said to the manager at the start of the season that I wanted to add goals to my game this year. It's something I've wanted to work on for a long time and I was playing in a more advanced role in the first few games of the season, but at the moment - because Aggy's come in and done well, and Chilli was on fire at the start of the season, and Kits is going to play because he's a good player - the midfield has dropped back into more of a solid unit," he explains.

"The goals (against) have stopped going in but now people are questioning the lack of goals at the other end. Everyone knows we've had a problem defensively and going forward has never been a problem, so we've gone from one extreme to another at the moment, but everything will soon click into place.

"We'd rather be drawing than losing games and we've only lost one game so far, and that was to Hull who are one of the favourites. No one wants to lose at all, but if we can keep on not losing games and get a few more wins then we'll soon start flying up the league."

Asked about the new players, Luke believes they have had a positive influence on the team, saying, "I think they've all been good signings and it doesn't even seem like they are new lads because they've known one or two of the other lads, so they've settled in well.

"You've got Mark Venus at the back who can control the games and dictate things. He's good with his talking and tells you what to do. Then you've got Bimmo at left back who's solid and a good leader, nice and loud and picks the lads up if they're a bit down, and Walks who sits in, and he's good on the ball and tries to control the game from further up the pitch than Veno.

"The fans aren't happy that we've been drawing 0-0 but obviously the plans for those players to come in and stabilise the team have worked," he adds, "and we've just kept two clean sheets in a row."

He also praises former youth team colleagues Dan Chillingworth and Alex Revell, who weighed in with five goals between them at the start of the season before suffering injuries.

"They've worked hard, like the other young lads like Franco and Bridgo. They've stayed behind and worked extra hard and they come in on their days off sometimes, so it's nice for them to be repaid for the hard work they've done.

"It's a good example for other youngsters, to show what hard work can give you."

Luke hopes for promotion this season and he feels it is only a matter of time before we start winning games and climbing the table.

"We only need to raise our game a little bit and we'll start winning games and flying up the league, and I think we're very close to doing that now," he says. "If we finish in the top seven we would fancy our chances to beat anyone who was in there.

"I'd love us to get promoted because the first season for a lot of these players was when we got relegated, and it didn't quite pan out as everybody wanted last year so hopefully we can have an achievement instead of the negative of being relegated.

"Personally I'd like to score a lot of goals and I'll keep trying hard, and all the boys will be doing their best to achieve our goals," Luke concludes.

"The Quick Fire Round"

If you were on 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire' and had to phone a friend, which team-mate would you choose?

I don't think there are any clever ones! Probably Wozza.

Favourite holiday destination, and describe why in one word.

Barbados. Beautiful.

If you weren't a footballer, what would your job be now?

A farmer or something similar.

Who do you go to for financial advice?

Mum and Dad.

What will you be doing in ten years' time?

Hopefully I'll still be playing.

Who is your best mate in the squad?

PROBABLY. Wozza!

Who has the best dress sense in the squad?

Freddie and Walks.

And who has the worst?

Marshy!

In a film of your life story who would you want to play you and why?

Mike Myers, he's funny.

Porsche or Ferrari?

Porsche.

Indian or Chinese?

Chinese.

Beer or lager?

Lager.

Boxers or briefs?

Boxers.

If you were given tickets for a gig, who would you want to see and why?

Robbie Williams. Legend.

Three words your team-mates might use to describe you?

Annoying. Busy. Pest!

A shorter version of this interview appeared in the programme for the match against Torquay United on Saturday 13th September, 2003 - and Luke duly scored his first goal of the season.

You can hear the full interview with Luke on our U's World multimedia website. Click here for details about U's World.

Previous Featured Players this season:
29Sep03: Stuart Bimson
21Sep03: Warren Goodhind
21Aug03: Dave Kitson
13Aug03: Justin Walker

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