Richard Brindley joined the Spitfires in the summer following his departure from Notts County where he made 134 appearances in four seasons for The Magpies.

Given the amount of time he spent at his former club, it’s only natural to be a big change. However, as someone who has been at 11 clubs in 13 years, it’s not a huge surprise that Brindley is enjoying life in SO50 so far.

“I’ve found it great, it’s been a really positive start to the season. We have a good bunch of players and people as a community overall, and I’m really happy.”

With ‘ambitious and talented’ players in squad, Brindley makes it his responsibility to mentor the younger members of the squad.

“There’s quite a few young, ambitious, and talented players here which is great to see but now as a senior player, my role is to help those players bring more success to the club.

“I think you notice yourself becoming a senior player when you hit a certain age, your legs feel differently, and the experience on the pitch changes in a way.

“Taking on a senior role, I have to prioritise helping others off-the-pitch which is something I really enjoy. I like to win so I like to focus on helping others build that mentality.”

The right-back spent four seasons at Notts County before joining the Spitfires which naturally, would make it more tough than it already is to move to a club that is 170 miles away.

“I knew that it would be difficult because I hadn’t done it for a long time so it was an unusual feeling to adapt to.

“I have been at other clubs before but when you’re at a club for so long you have to adapt and you learn that every new workplace is a different dynamic.

“You have to learn to take information on board in terms of how players and staff operate, and then fit into that to play a part in the club.”

As a player, self-reflection is a crucial skill to have, and one that can help in both their careers, but also in their personal lives.

“I think people would describe me as calm, cool, and collected. I think they would say I’m very composed, emotionally intelligent, and someone who plays football with their head.”

When asked about what he would’ve been if he didn’t play football, Brindley looked back at different points in his life where he believed that he quite easily could’ve taken a different path.

“When I was a teenager, I would’ve probably told you something that I shouldn’t have been doing, something illegal. When I was growing up, I was affiliated with a lot of people that probably took the wrong path and I was quite lucky to have football because it kept me away from the wrong path.

“When I got to my twenties, I found an interest in business so I think, assuming I didn’t take the wrong path, I probably would’ve tried to build a business.”

As someone who has been close to taking the wrong path in life and managed to avoid it thanks to a hobby that is now a career, we asked Brindley for some advice that he would offer to those in a similar situation.

“I would say don’t be afraid to do what’s best for you. I think a lot of youngsters growing up would do what they can to try to fit in and stay in their crowds at school, or wherever they are spending time with their friends. The biggest lesson that I learnt when I was younger was I always thought about my future and the consequences of things.

“If you’re able to look at it from the perspective of being aware of what consequences come from your actions, especially as a man. You need to understand that you can cause real consequences if you make the wrong decisions.

“My best advice to youngsters would be to focus on doing what makes you happy and think about your decisions because they do have consequences. Try and aim to be the best that you can possibly be!”

Our final question to the 31-year old was a classic icebreaker as we picked his brain to find out which three celebrities, dead or alive, he would have dinner with, and why?

“Denzel Washington because he is very intellectual and he looks at life in a different way to most. I just class him as a high-value person based on how he operates and thinks.

“I would also choose Jeff Bezos because of his business mind-set is like no other. Also, he looks at values in life such as family and having the right people around you.

“The last person I would choose would be Barack Obama because he has another great, but also different, view on life in terms of how to treat people and how to bring people and communities together. I would find it so fascinating to understand how he puts other people first and looking at what’s best for a whole nation.”

Richard Brindley is sponsored by H A Laser.