Kelly: Let’s attempt to get to know you just a little bit extra away from the pitch. Firstly, I all the time like asking: what have been you want as a teen?
Nathan: When you requested my mam or dad, they’d say I used to be a headcase! I used to be only a bit itchy, I all the time needed to transfer. I may by no means sit nonetheless and calm down. I all the time needed to do one thing. So that they needed to burn me out. I all the time wished to be within the grass or taking part in soccer, simply working round to empty my vitality. I feel I used to be laborious work for my dad and mom, I would say it like that!
Kelly: It seems like perhaps it was fairly a chaotic family. What number of siblings have you ever obtained?
Nathan: I’ve obtained an older brother, a youthful sister and a youthful brother. I feel it was only a fixed battle of me making an attempt to beat my older brother. It was simply so laborious as a result of the age distinction. All of us had coaching at completely different occasions and so they’d be working out of the home and also you’d neglect your boots or they’d be taking two automobiles in several instructions. It was a little bit of a carnage, however you would not have it every other method.
Kelly: Are you continue to shut now?
Nathan: Ah yeah, in fact. I speak to them kind of on daily basis on the telephone. Each likelihood I get to go house I’ll. My mam goes to each recreation – house and away. She watches all of them.
Kelly: So she flies over? Are they nonetheless in Eire?
Nathan: Yeah, they dwell in Eire, so she flies over and she or he goes in every single place to be honest.
Kelly: Dwelling and away?
Nathan: Yeah.
Kelly: That’s some dedication!
Nathan: I do know, I inform her, ‘hear, you do not have to’ and she or he’s like, ‘no, I wish to’.
Kelly: Not everybody’s obtained a son that is a Premier League footballer although… I form of get the enchantment!
Nathan: Yeah, I do not assume that she watches the matches. I feel that she simply seems at me the entire recreation and sees what I am doing. She’ll come after, ‘Why have been you scratching your leg a lot within the match?’ … ‘I do not know. How have you learnt that?’
Kelly: Aw, bless her, that is actually candy. How would your greatest pal describe you?
Nathan: I would wish to assume that they’d describe me as the identical lad I used to be rising up. The very first thing that might pop of their head… they would not say I am a footballer. I feel they’d simply say, ‘ah Nathan, he is only a good lad like… he is a little bit of craic and he comes out when he can’ … however I do not assume that they’d take a look at me as a footballer, which I actually take pleasure in. And it simply means once I’m with them, I can simply be myself and simply take pleasure in being one of many lads.
Kelly: So if the supervisor offers you a break day, what would you do?
Nathan: It relies upon. If it is a weekday and it is good climate, I am going to play golf with a couple of of the lads right here and we’ll get out within the solar.
Kelly: Are you any good?
Nathan: I am all proper. Hear, I can play. I am not the best, however I am not the worst.
Kelly: Who do you play with right here?
Nathan: The group proper now could be me, Keane Lewis-Potter, Kris Ajer, Hakon Valdimarsson. It is a good crew as a result of now we have lots of gamers and we do some Ryder Cup-style.
Kelly: Oh good!
Nathan: So it is workers v gamers.
Kelly: Wow!
Nathan: Yeah, as a result of there’s lots of gamers. We did that final 12 months. We did 18 holes within the morning, we went for some lunch, after which we did 18 holes within the afternoon and it was actually good enjoyable. Gamers received, so thank God!
Kelly: Oh, that was my subsequent query. Have you ever obtained any secret hobbies?
Nathan: I like cooking, in order that’s one thing. After I prepare dinner, I feel I simply neglect about every thing. I am simply in my very own little zone and my head form of goes quiet, which is good.
Kelly: Are you prepare dinner?
Nathan: It relies upon who you ask…
Kelly: If I used to be asking your girlfriend…
Nathan: Yeah, she’s really saying: ‘Ah, you are getting higher at cooking!’
Kelly: That is a bit patronising!
Nathan: Yeah, and I used to be like… ‘Does that imply I used to be dangerous?’
Kelly: Honest sufficient. What do folks get unsuitable about you probably the most?
Nathan: Possibly I get a little bit of stereotypical: ‘Ah, he is only a footballer.’ Possibly they get that after which assume, ‘oh, he is really fairly good to speak to… he is all proper… he is form of relaxed… he is chill’.
I all the time wish to be only a good individual as nicely. That is vital for me, simply to be a pleasant individual, individual, a caring individual. As a lot as I wish to be the very best footballer I can ever be, I additionally wish to be the very best individual I might be and I feel that is one thing that I all the time try in direction of as nicely.
Kelly: What is the hardest second of your profession been? Has there been a tricky second?
Nathan: I had one recreation for Brentford towards Wolves and I had two errors within the recreation. I gave away two objectives, we misplaced 3-1 or one thing like that and I obtained battered off the Wolves followers as a result of I’d simply left Wolves and the followers had a lot to go towards me, a lot stick. I used to be like, ‘oh my God, this could not have gotten any worse’.
To be honest, that evening Thomas Frank rang me and he was like, ‘hear Nathan, that is in all probability the worst recreation you may ever have in your profession’, and he is like, ‘so it is solely up from right here’.
