TIPPING THE SCALES

MATTHEW LUDDINGTON TALKS TO JOHN SCALES ABOUT HIS PLAYING DAYS AND HIS LATEST EXPLOITS...

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JOHN Scales enjoyed a glittering playing career in the upper echelons of the game, but is more than happy now to be lending a hand lower down the ladder. The former Wimbledon, Liverpool and

England defender is a consultant at ambitious Non-League side Raynes Park Vale.

Vale were promoted from Combined Counties Premier South last season and are currently in the thick of a play-off race in Isthmian South Central this term, the fourth tier of the Non-League game.

Alongside his advisory work at the club, Scales, now 57, wants to help them make a big impact in the community.

The former FA Cup winner with Wimbledon said: “On the pitch, things are going really well. We have a great group of people around the club and a good manager in Josh Gallagher (brother of Chelsea’s Conor), who is doing a really good job.

“The secret of our success is the collective camaraderie of the players, the tight-knit group that we’ve got, and the intensity that we train during the week.

“The whole area of football finance fascinates me, how vulnerable these amateur clubs are yet how incredibly resilient. The clubs survive by hook or by crook, and amateur football is a brilliant world - I love being part of it.