The former Leicester youth's career was derailed by the injury  and he's eased back with spells at Oxford United and Tamworth before a season at Accrington Stanley led to a new deal at Oldham Athletic, despite interest from Melbourne Victory in the A-League.

He told au.fourfourtwo.com who he's travelling today - and how he's reviving his dreams once more.

What age did you move to Leicester City’s Youth Academy? How did the move come about?

I was 15 at the time and I was asked to attend an Ian Rush soccer clinic in Adelaide to trial in front of Glan Latheran who was the Leicester City goalkeeping coach. Two weeks later I was on a plane to England.

 

After several years at Leicester, how come you were never able to break into the first-team?

I was in the first team squad when I was 17, and was the second choice keeper at 18. Unfortunately I broke my wrist warming up in the FA Cup against Crystal Palace, and ended up missing two years of football due to the injury. I was told that the injury had recovered and was cleared by Leicester to attend the U20 World Cup. It hadn’t, and after the World Cup I spent the best part of nine months ensuring that I got the wrist back to 100%. From there I moved into League Two with Accrington.

 

During your time at Leicester, you had loan deals at Oxford and Tamworth, what did you take from those spells?

Oxford was a one-month emergency back-up role, as their #2 had decided to retire. I played a handful of reserve matches and benched for the first team. Tamworth was a good experience as I made 25 odd appearances and got to play in some important cup ties. You can’t under-estimate the importance of first team football for young players, so I took a lot from my time with Tamworth.

 

Last year you were released by Leicester, how did that feel after spending so long at the club?

It was a frustrating time and I had done enough to earn a new contract. I was very successful with the youth and reserve teams there and had featured with the 1st team squad early on. The gaffer was led to believe I wouldn’t recover from the injury, but it was always just a matter of time. Ultimately it was for the best. I'm a first team keeper now which is vital at this stage of my career.

 

Why did you opt for Accrington Stanley? Were there any other options?

There were a few options, but Accrington is a club with a good record of providing players who have previously been at a higher level the opportunity to showcase their ability. When the call came through from John (Coleman) I knew it was going to be the right move for me.

 

You played regularly at Accrington last season, including making the play-offs, how do you review your season both personally and as a club?

On a personal level I missed the last week of preseason due to a groin strain and had to take a place on the bench. Bavs (Ian Dunbavin) was sensational in the opening 10 or so matches. At one stage we had only conceded 1 goal in 7 matches, so it made getting into the 1st team a real challenge. A major aspect of the season was about getting back into fulltime training and sorting my technique out again after having missed so much time out at Leicester. Billy Stewart (formerly of Liverpool FC) made a world of difference, helped tighten up my technique and played a large part in getting me back to playing decent football. I think I kept 10 clean sheets in 18 appearances on the backend of the season and I even managed to pick up the player of the month award in March, which was a nice form of recognition.

As a team we really gelled well in the run home and were unlucky to miss out on auto-promotion. The playoffs were great to be a part of, but we all know we left too much out on the park over the two games. From memory Accrington have improved on every previous season under John Coleman. So to improve every year for 15 years says a lot about the club, and it probably doesn’t get the respect it deserves.

 

At only 22, you still have time on your side, especially as a goalkeeper, so what is the long-term plan? How high a level can you hope to play?

Like any other player I want to perform at the highest level possible. The reality for a goalkeeper is that you build on experience. Most forget that Mark Schwarzer didn't play Premier League until he was 28. I have only just turned 22 so what's important is getting as much game time as I can. It is better for me to play 46 League 1 matches than say 5 or 10 Championship matches. I need consistant game time and League 1 is an appropriate level for me right now.

In England the most important thing is to take each game as it comes. Competition for a starting birth is always intense over here. The pinnacle is the Premier League, but who knows where I will end up. I would rather surprise the football world than underwhelm it by setting potentially unrealistic expectations.

 

The A-League offers a good and improving level for Aussie players, have you considered a return home? Would you?

I’ve only ever seen DVDs of the league. From what I have seen the standard is hard to gauge. The tempo is much lower than the UK, but sometimes the gameplay matches a quality League 1/Championship match, other times it is below the Blue Square Premier. For now my interests lie in Europe, but who knows what will happen down the track.

 

How much are you able to follow the A-League from overseas?

The league isn’t broadcast over here as far as I know, but as I said I have seen quite a few games via DVD.

 

What about international aspirations? It is arguably the toughest position to gain in the Socceroos squad due to a glut of good Aussie stopper…

Unfortunately I copped a nasty corked thigh in the playoffs and missed the Yemen qualifiers. I am in regular contact with Tony (Franken) and we share the same belief that if I continue to play and play well then I will create my own opportunities. There has been a lot of late about young Aussie keepers being the next ‘Bosnich’ or ‘Schwarzer.’ It’s unrealistic  to expect a Socceroos call up right now, and there are guys in front of me who have paid their dues. I’ll keep developing in the League with Oldham and we’ll see from there.

 

What most appealed about the move to Oldham?

One of the main factors was the opportunity to work with Paul (Dickov) and Gerry (Taggart) again. I played with Paul at Leicester City and Gerry was great for my game while I was in the reserves there. When a manager does as much as Paul has done to get me to Oldham, it fills you with the neccesary confidence to take the next step. The challenge of progressing on at League 1 level was also important.

 

Are you expecting to be number one at the club? How strong is the competition for that spot at Oldham?

Expectations are a dangerous thing in football. I have signed as the #1 and we will see shortly who else comes in to challenge for the spot. Competition in the Football League is massive. There are plenty of players at Premiership clubs wanting loan moves so you have got to be on your toes 100% of the time. My focus is on playing well and helping the team to win as many points as possible.

 

Hopes for the coming season at Oldham? What would qualify as a good season?

Personally I want to cement myself as the #1 at the club and play as many quality games as possible. One of the big pluses at Oldham at the moment is Paul’s philosophy of bringing in players of quality. It showed at Accrington last season that with a core group of quality players, playoffs are achievable and that has to be every players' aim at the start of the League campaign. Right now we are focussed on the opening day, Sheffield United at home.

 

I understand you had an offer from Melbourne Victory too? How keen were you?

I only have good things to say about the current Melbourne setup. They were very good to me, very professional. Victory have great facilities and it’s a shame the A-League didn’t exist when I was growing up.