The U's assistant manager enjoyed a long and successful career as a goalscoring midfielder before moving into coaching, and he is relishing the challenge of helping Jimmy Quinn to return the club to the Football League.

Born in Barking in 1966, Steve's playing career began at Leyton Orient in 1982 as an apprentice and he earned his first professional contract in 1984, going on to forge a successful career as an attacking midfielder with over 550 senior games and more than 130 goals.

"I had nine years at Orient, happy times and 66 goals, and we got promoted in 1991 from the old fourth division to the third," he recalls. "Then in 1992 Plymouth paid £225,000 for me and I had three very successful seasons and scored 40 goals there.

"We got into the play-offs in my second season but unfortunately missed out against Burnley, who were 12 points behind us in the league table, but that's how it goes in the play-offs."

From Plymouth he joined Division One (Championside) club Birmingham City in a £275,000 move, and during his time there reached the League Cup semi-finals but lost to Leeds United.

After two seasons he found himself drifting to the fringes of the first team and joined Peterborough United as a player-coach in 1997, which is when he first worked with Jimmy Quinn as a player and then coach.

"I had three years there and in the last season got promoted in the play-off final, which was the last time Wembley was used. Obviously it's every player's ambition to play at Wembley and I got in at the last opportunity," he smiles.

Following three seasons at London Road he returned to Leyton Orient in 2000 but his time there was ravaged by injuries and in 2001 he moved on to Stevenage Borough and then St Albans.

"I basically called it a day and went to St Albans to enjoy the game on a part-time basis, and then got asked to be assistant manager. I enjoyed that and then took over as manager for two years and got them promoted from the old Ryman Premier League to the Conference South."

Steve became interested in the coaching side of football quite early in his career, starting the process of getting his qualifications when he was at Plymouth and completed his full licence while he was at Birmingham in 1995.

"I completed my full badge with Aidy Boothroyd, who was a friend of mine and I talked a lot about football with him. He was a young lad who unfortunately got injured and it got forced upon him, and it stuck with me that I ought to have something I could fall back on.

"Coaching is a very poor second to being a player," he admits, "but it's the next best thing and it's very enjoyable to keep yourself involved in football in whatever capacity.

"I saw the move to Peterborough as player-coach as the first step along the path into coaching but it didn't really work out that way until my last year there," he adds.

"In my first year there Phil Neal was the coach and did most things himself, but I enjoyed the football side of things and I still learned a lot from people like Phil Neal, Jimmy Quinn, Wayne Turner and people like that when I helped out with the coaching."

As a player who always got forward to score goals in his own career - including 24 in one season at Plymouth - Steve is enjoying working with the players at United and trying to get them to add goals to their game.

"I always think your midfield players should dip in with their share of goals, and Stephen Smith came back to score a good one at Woking the other week, but that's been a little bit lacking so far and if we can get a goalscoring midfield player like David Bridges or Stephen Smith then it bodes well for the club."

As assistant manager at a cash-strapped Conference club, Steve has to turn his hand to most tasks, but the 40-year-old accepts that is the nature of the job at this level.

"It's all hands to the pump - literally. Balls have to be pumped up and bibs have to be cleaned and distributed and at times the ice bins have to be cleaned and things like that, but it's not a problem. I've always been quite a hard-working sort of person and I don't find it any sort of hardship.

"I think everybody's got to muck in and the players have to do their fair share, and that's the nature of the club. I think that gives a little bit of togetherness when everybody's pulling the same way and putting their effort in off the park as well as on it, and as management we have to bring organisation to things."

When the call came from Jimmy in September, Steve was working for a college and also part-time for the FA, scouting and assessing young players for the England junior teams, up to Under-19 level.

"I was visiting club's academies throughout the week and on Saturdays looking at all age groups from 12s to 19s for future England talent," he explains.

"And for the last four years since I left Leyton Orient I had a full-time job at a college, setting up a very similar scheme to the one here at Cambridge Regional College, firstly at Redbridge College and then, when I was at St Albans, I set their scheme up.

"We've had about six pros come out of the schemes I've been involved with, and it's nice that you can give another avenue to some kids who haven't had the chance to have apprenticeship football at the bigger clubs.

"Some are late developers and if they have a good attitude it's a nice avenue for them to get back into pro football at the same time as getting educated."

He admits that with a young family it was a big decision to return full-time to the professional game, and explains, "I had a phone call on the Thursday night from Jimmy and I had overnight to think about it. I'm very much a family man, I have three young children - Charlotte who is five and twin boys, Harry and Charlie, who are 23 months - so it was a hard decision.

"But at the same time, I know that if I'd have turned it down it would have been a big regret in my life and my wife was of the same opinion, so we decided that I'd go for it and hopefully with success on the pitch it will work out in our favour."

Having been at the club for three months, Steve feels there is more to the current squad than they have shown so far.

"I think the lads are responding well to what we're trying to implement. They're a good bunch of lads that we feel can at least push for the play-offs and we just need to get that level of consistency. We've hit a few highs and a few lows and obviously we want to see more of what we saw against Stevenage and Aldershot and Gravesend and Woking, and less of the Woking and St Albans.

"It's all about the lads' approach, not about their ability," he adds. "I think the ability is there and we have to keep on bringing it out of them, week in, week out. I think if you asked the players as well as the staff why we're not seeing it consistently, we would all be scratching our heads about how that same team that beat Gravesend could put in a performance like they did against St Albans.

"We dissected it and we weren't happy, the lads knew we weren't happy and more importantly they weren't happy themselves, and in fairness to them they gave a fantastic response at Woking. Now let's go for the level of consistency that I think we and the supporters know they can achieve."

Asked about what needs changing, Steve points first to the lack of goals: "Obviously we don't score enough, which needs addressing, but we're slowly but surely changing this mentality that we can't win games and I think the same can be achieved with regard to goal scoring. If we can get our front players hitting the back of the net on a regular basis I think that will keep flowing; it's just about us having the belief in the lads and them having the belief in themselves."

With the transfer window opening again in January, speculation is already rife about what will happen to the United squad and Steve comments, "There are lads who signed contracts well before we came and those contracts must be honoured, but they all know they're fighting for their playing futures and hopefully that's going to bring the best out of them and make the decision easy for Jimmy.

"But on the flip side, it's the nature of football that if we can get better players in within our budget then of course we will do so."

And looking ahead to the second half of the season, the U's number two has one aim above all others: "Consistency.

"We know we've got it and we really do need to go on to a regular level of consistency.

"If the lads give everything and still get beaten by the better side then I think you can take that on the chin better than if they don't put in a performance and they're lacklustre, which has happened on occasions.

"So we're looking for endeavour, desire and that level of consistency that they should be able to achieve.

"I've thought we were getting there on three separate occasions and it hasn't happened, but positive results breed positive ideas and belief and all we need is a couple of positive results to set ourselves up for a better run.

"We can see a lot more positive attitude in training and that just needs to transfer itself onto the pitch."

My Favourite Game:
"I'm going to be greedy because I've got two! I scored a six minute hat-trick for Plymouth at Stockport, and when I was only 19 at Leyton Orient I scored four in one game and had a fifth disallowed, at home to Rochdale. So they stick out even above the two play-off finals and playing in the last game at Wembley."

*This interview was first published in the programme for the match against Rushden & Diamonds on 26th December, 2006

In Conversation With...
Wayne Purser October 2006
Tony Spearing March 2006
Paul Barry January 2006
Rob Newman September 2005

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