An interview with Stephen Warnock, by Callum McFadden for WFi.
You started your career at Liverpool during a period of success for the club under Gerard Houllier and Rafa Benitez. What are your memories of your time at the club?
“I came through the academy from the age of 10, and then I was in and around the first team as a teenager and got called up to the first team at the age of 16.
“When I was just moved from the academy, I broke my leg. So, I had a period of about three years where I was injured.
“Then when I came back into the fold, Gerard Houllier was manager which was a change from when Roy Evans was in charge as it eas him who initially wanted to call me into the first team. So, when Gerard Houllier took sole charge of the team, things changed and there was just a huge influx of French players, whether it was youth or first-team players.
“From there, I always knew it was going to be tough to break through having come from the academy and recovered from a broken leg and other injury setbacks.
“I knew that I needed regular game time to prove myself, so I went out on loan to Coventry when I was in the final year of my contract, and thankfully, I did well.
“When I came back after that loan spell, it was Rafa Benitez who had taken over as manager at the club and that was where I got my opportunity. It was a completely fresh start for me.
“He gave me my opportunity at Liverpool, and I was very fortunate that he saw something in me that he liked.”
Your time at Blackburn Rovers was very highly regarded which led to you joining Aston Villa under Martin O’Neill in 2009. What was it about Blackburn that worked for you?
“I would say it was probably down to the fact that I had the full backing of the manager in Mark Hughes who was a manager who wanted me.
“Whereas, as much as I enjoyed my time at Liverpool, I always felt like I was treated as an academy graduate and treated as someone who you can almost scapegoat and leave out at times because you haven’t been brought into the club.
“When Mark Hughes came in for me at Blackburn, it was the feeling of being wanted by a manager and being seen as someone who feels like you are going to help the team that made me want to join.
“When I went and sat down with him, I was massively impressed by the way that he spoke about me and what he knew about me and the way he spoke about my game.
“So, my levels of confidence just went through the roof l from just chatting to him. Everything was geared towards making me better, trying to improve me, whether that was strength and conditioning or whether it was the coaching that he would do on the pitch.
“Relationships with teammates on the pitch are also important for things to work out in a positive way and I was fortunate to play alongside Ryan Nelson who was incredible for me.
“He helped me so much through games with the way that he talked to me, he always spoke to me like he had respect for me, which I loved, and he always wanted to try and help improve me as well.
“I also had Morten Gamst Pedersen in front of me and I struck up a great relationship with him. He was an exceptional footballer.
“I was equally as lucky when I moved to Aston Villa, where I had Richard Dunne alongside me, who was a magnificent player, again someone who talked me through the game and helped me.
“Then, in front of me at Villa, I had Ashley Young and Stewart Downing who were brilliant wingers who made me look a little bit better (laughs).”
How do you reflect on your time at Aston Villa as a whole because when you went there the club pushed for the top four and were regarded as one of the best teams in the league.
“Villa is a massive club steeped in history, so it was an honour to play for them.
“One special night that stands out from my time there was the Carabao Cup semi-final against Blackburn.
“We won the first game 1-0, and then the second game was just absolutely mental.
“I think it ended up being 6-4 on aggregate, it was the complete opposite to the first game.
“I scored in the game, and I didn’t know how to celebrate, I didn’t know what to do, but to get to a major final was an amazing feeling as a player.
“The atmosphere at Villa Park that night was quite phenomenal. I actually went back to Villa Park recently and did a commentary on a European game against Olympiacos in the semi-final of the Conference League.
“That was the first time I’d heard the atmosphere be like the same since I’d played within that atmosphere. It was special.
“Another game that always stands out was my debut which was in the Birmingham Derby against Birmingham, away from home at St Andrews.
“As soon as I walked out of the tunnel, I immediately understood what the rivalry was and how big it was for the fans.
“I loved my time at Villa even if it didn’t come as easy as I’d have liked it to because there were some tough times as well, but I really enjoyed it when I look back on it now.”
Finally, Stephen, you represented England at senior level and went to the 2010 World Cup under Fabio Capello. What was it like to play under someone like Capello?
“Going to the World Cup was one of the greatest experiences of my career.
“I looked at it in a different way to others might have because I had Ashley Cole in front of me, arguably the best left back in world football at the time, and I knew that I was going as a backup player.
“I accepted that very early on because, let’s be honest, if you got asked to go to a World Cup as a player, you’d be absolutely over the moon just to be part of the squad like you would if you were a fan and effectively, that was what I was doing.
“I was getting a front-row seat to watch every single game, but I also got to train with the team as well and be part of everything from the inside.
“It was tough at times because it’s not easy living away from home, especially because where we were based in South Africa was very remote.
“We ended up going to Sun City quite a lot and playing a little bit of golf and trying to get out of the camp as much as we could because we ended up getting a little bit of cabin fever.
“But on the whole, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of it all, getting to see another country as well as seeing different players close hand, how they train and how they prepare for things.
“Again, I just looked at it as I had a front-row seat to the biggest tournament in world football.
“There has been a lot of talk from the English media about Fabio Capello and how he will be remembered as an England manager. He was a perfectionist in the way he wanted things to be done. He was strict in the way he was, but he gave me an opportunity to go to a World Cup, so I’ll be forever grateful to him for that.”
Stephen Warnock was speaking courtesy of BetVictor.
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