Supple Slates Former Team Mates
By Aston
September 15 2009
Former Town goalkeeper Shane Supple has blasted some of his former team mates, saying they didn’t care if Town lost.
Supple, who quit football last month has been speaking about his experience in pro-football and explained one of the reasons for him quitting the game being that some of team mates didn't care about results.
Supple: "Then I got into the first team and I saw that some of the lads didn't really care whether we won or lost. I didn't really like that, that was disillusioning. Things weren't going great at the club at the time, which I suppose didn't help, but it made me question whether this was what I wanted to do.
"I was 18. That was when it started to creep in. I was in the team as well, so it was a strange one. The season finished and the manager, Joe Royle, left. The same feelings were in the back of my head and I nearly did it then.
"I thought, 'I'll go home, this isn't for me'. But I stayed, probably for the wrong reasons, for other people. But I didn't want to let people down."
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“People said I couldn't get on with Roy, but if that was the case then I'd have gone to another club.
“Even if I could have afforded to drive a Bentley, that's not what I was in it for. Some seem to think it's about flashiness, the big house, big money, cars. That wouldn't be my take on things.
“I remember Joe Royle (who was then the manager) saying that some of them think they're stars and they're not even players.
“The decision was brewing over a number of years. The first time I thought this might not be the thing for me was the Christmas of 2005. That was my first Christmas away.
“My dad came over for the Boxing Day game and I remember saying to him then 'I don't think this is the thing for me. I don't like what I'm seeing'.
“When you're a young lad your one aim is to get into the first team. You're in digs, you're training, you're resting, all you're looking at is the first team. Being away from home can be difficult on top of that, but at first it wasn't a problem for me.
“Then I got into the first team and I saw that some of the lads didn't really care whether we won or lost. I didn't really like that, that was disillusioning. Things weren't going great at the club at the time, which I suppose didn't help, but it made me question whether this was what I wanted to do.
“I was 18. That was when it started to creep in. I was in the team as well, so it was a strange one. The season finished and the manager, Joe Royle, left. The same feelings were in the back of my head and I nearly did it then.
“I thought, 'I'll go home, this isn't for me'. But I stayed, probably for the wrong reasons, for other people. But I didn't want to let people down.”
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