I’m a former Premier League midfielder – now I’m saving people’s lives in a dramatic new career as a fireman
A FORMER football star that played for a Premier League club and even represented Northern Ireland is now saving lives as a FIREMAN.
This player came through the ranks at Wolverhampton Wanderers and was twice named on the bench for them in the top-flight in the 2003/04 season.
After impressing on two loan spells at Chesterfield, the midfielder left Molineux and established himself and became an international player at Nottingham Forest.
After two years at the City Ground, he headed to Norwich City for a season and then had a three-year stint at Coventry City before moving up to Scotland after a short spell with Doncaster Rovers.
However, little did the now 39-year-old Sammy Clingan know that switching north of the border would change his life forever.
The 39-capped Northern Irish star met his wife and soon started a family with her before eventually going on to get a heroic new career entirely.
As quoted by the Scottish Sun, he said: “When I moved up here to Scotland I had a knee injury in the last month of my contract, I think I was 32, 33 at the time.
“I ended up out of football for a year and then trying to get fit because I wanted to go to the Euros with Northern Ireland, but I never managed to do that and was basically out of the game for a year.
“Then David Healy asked me to sign for him at Linfield so I moved back home and it was part-time. But it kind of worked out okay for me because training was only on a Tuesday and Thursday and then playing at the weekend, which was kind of okay to be able to manage my knee because the type of injury I had I had to manage the nodes that were going through my knee.
“So that worked out for a bit but then my knee broke down again and I thought it was definitely time to call it a day. But then another friend, Gary Hamilton, who is manager of Glenavon, said to me, ‘Sammy, please give it one last chance and see how you get on.’
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“To be fair I went there and played for three years and although I picked up a couple of injuries, my knee felt fine.
“But I had met my wife while I was playing for Kilmarnock and she wanted to get back to Glasgow to get married and have our kids and stuff, so I said, ‘fair enough,’ and because I love Glasgow I’m back here now with a complete change of career.”
Unless it is a step into the world of punditry, most pros look at getting into coaching once hanging up their boots.
But while Clingan was debating what to do next, his wife came up with a suggestion that would lead to him tackling blazes rather than opposition strikers.
He said: “I thought about getting into football coaching and I had done a wee bit back home in Belfast with the Irish Football Association but then I was concentrating on trying to get fit again to play and so put the coaching bit aside.
“And then when I moved back to Scotland I didn’t really have that many contacts in coaching so I just decided to think of a completely different career change.
“I was thinking about what to do but I didn’t know what to do because for my whole life all I knew was football.
“Then my wife said to me one day, ‘what about the fire service Sammy,’ and I thought it was a good idea.”
Clingan completed his training and graduated with the Scottish Fire Service in April this year.
He said: “That was two years ago that I applied.
“It’s actually quite difficult to get into but I have just finished my training and it’s been an amazing experience, working with a great group and we actually got named the best squad of the course when we graduated.”
The now firefighter also detailed some of the most challenging aspects of his new job – especially what it is like racing into buildings that are up in smoke whilst carrying heavy safety apparatus.
Clingan said: “The breathing apparatus with a cylinder on your back and going into a smoke-filled house where you can’t see, so that’s quite intense and tough.
“They are really hard on that because you have to get that right because it’s probably the most dangerous part of the job, but it’s also enjoyable when you’re in that environment and able to find a casualty.
“But we have done all sorts of training, working at heights, water training and RTC (Road Traffic Collision), so cutting up cars and stuff, so it’s been really practical and enjoyable.”
Speaking to Coventry Live, Clingan also revealed where he would be working after training.
He added: “I’m going to be based at a small station on the outskirts of Glasgow, which is only a one appliance station whereas others are multi-pump, but I am sure I will get some learning over the first three years which is a probationary period, so I will just get my head down and work as hard as I can.”