Big Read: Simon Coleman discusses his early days at Mansfield Town and how he never felt good enough for Sheffield Wednesday

Coleman had grown up watching Stags and, like any boy, had always dreamed of following his heroes into the pro game.

But what the talented Worksop-born youngster could never have imagined was that he would one day make the leap from the playing fields all the way up to the big leagues.

“I just went to Mansfield as a kid and I signed a pro deal in 1984, it was happy times,” he said.

“It was something I always wanted to do and it was a local club, so it was perfect.

“I always wanted to be a pro. I didn’t go to many games, but I always remember going to watch the Mansfield game against Spurs as a kid.

“When I signed I thought how I had a chance to make it if I did things right.”

The no-nonsense centre-back began learning his trade under legendary manager Ian Greaves.

But it is one other Mansfield Town icon who Coleman credits for helping kick-start his career, which would eventually see him play 475 competitive games in the Football League and Premier League.

“Mansfield was a great grounding,” he added. “You think of how good a manager Ian Greaves was, you think of Billy Dearden, and playing alongside George Foster.

“I was speaking to Peter Reid three years ago and he was saying how Ian Greaves was the best manager he ever had.

“When you think he played under Bobby Robson for England and Howard Kendall, who won the top division, it makes you realise what a great manager he was.

“He was brilliant for me, but so was Billy Dearden. If it wasn’t for Billy I would probably have been released in 1987.

“Billy backed my corner. I remember at the end of that season, the club had got to Wembley and had a bit more money and Billy was saying to the manager to give me another year.

“Ian Greaves said it was half and half if he was gonna give me another year and if it wasn’t for Billy he would probably have released me.

“I got in the team for the first game of the 1987/88 season and never looked back. Billy backed me and it all turned around.

“I remember playing Boston in pre-season in 1987, everything clicked, I was winning tackles, headers and it just spiralled from that game.

“I only missed two games that season through injury.”

His breakthrough came a season too late for him feature in Mansfield’s historic 1987 Freight Rover Trophy final win.

But there were many more big games ahead for Coleman, with his commanding performances beginning to attract the attention of what would now be Championship sides.

“I was doing well and I knew people were watching and there were clubs interested,” said Coleman, who now works as a teacher at Forest Town’s Garibaldi School.

“I used to sneak into the office on a match day and ask the girl which scouts were going to be at the game.

“You hear the rumours and I had an idea. George pulled me in the office in June 1989 and offered me a new contract.

“He basically said if I didn’t sign I would probably move on anyway, I think they just wanted me to sign so they would get a bit more money.

“I never signed. I knew I had one year left and I moved on in September that season.”

After making 96 appearances for Mansfield, Coleman joined Second Division Middlesborough in 1989 under Bruce Rioch for £500,000 as a replacement for Gary Pallister.

In his first season at Ayresome Park, he was thrust straight into a relegation battle with Boro avoiding relegation by just two points.

The season also saw Coleman suffer Wembley heartache following a 1-0 defeat to Chelsea in the old Zenith Data Systems Cup final.

Reflecting on the move, Coleman said: “It was a lot of money when you think the transfer record fee in England at the time was £2.3m.

“At the time it was a good career move, they were a good team.

“You look back now and think we had a bit of success in getting to Wembley and we got to the play-offs before I moved on again.

“It was good, the cup got a lot of publicity back then. It was sold out at Wembley as it was a big thing.

“It was a pity we lost but it was a great experience.”

After 70 appearances over three seasons for Championship promotion hopefuls Derby County, Coleman made it to the big time with a fairytale move to Sheffield Wednesday.

But it was a move which Coleman admits came with career setbacks as he struggled to adjust to rubbing shoulders with a star-studded squad, featuring the likes of Chris Waddle, David Hirst, John Sheridan and Chris Woods.

“I joined in 1993/94 just after they had lost the cup finals,” he said. “They had a team full of internationals and it was unbelievable.

“To be honest I was in awe of them. I had gone from not being a regular at Derby to Sheffield Wednesday, who were at the top end of the Premier League when I signed for them.

“It was like ‘is this really happening? I did alright, it was more of a confidence thing, I just kept thinking ‘I shouldn’t be here.’

“After the initial couple of months I probably lost a bit of confidence. I was playing out of position and did a job, but that was it.

Coleman departed Hillsborough and headed to Championship side Bolton Wanderers under his former Boro boss Bruce Rioch for the 1994/95 season.

And it was a move which the former Chesterfield Academy coach believes helped him re-discover his best form.

“I went to Bolton as one of the main players and it totally changed my confidence,” he said.

“We had a good team and had a really good run in the first season.

“Wednesday are a massive club and it made a difference going back to the Championship.

“If I described myself as a player it would be as a top Championship player and someone who can hold my own in the Premier League.

“When I went to Boro, Bruce Rioch left and that had an impact. Bruce reminded me of Ian Greaves.

“You couldn’t do anything out of line, he knew the players' movements and I took my foot off the gas a little.

“Bruce re-signed me for Bolton and those games I played for Bolton were probably the best I have played in my career.

“Just having Bruce behind me gave me the confidence.”

After 100 games for Southend, and a brief stint at Rochdale, Coleman called time on his career in 2002.

And, while he ponders what he could maybe have done differently to have played for longer at the top level, it is a career which he massively enjoyed.

“I don’t regret anything in my career, I just wonder what I could have done better,” he said.

“You sit back and reflect. I fulfilled a dream but did not fulfill my potential and I look back and I would have done some things differently.

“The money you get now is stupid, but I enjoyed my time playing, I had a great experience with football and all that goes with it.”

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