Brentford and Ireland captain Nathan Collins on World Cup dreams

Kelly: Let’s try to get to know you better away from the pitch. First, I always like to ask: what were you like when you were young?

Nathan: If you ask my mother or father, they will say that I am a headache! I was just bitten, and I had to move. I couldn’t sit still and relax. I always had to do something. So they had to burn me. I always wanted to be on the grass or play football, just run to burn off my energy. I think I was working hard for my parents, I can say that!

Kelly: It sounds like it was a family full of chaos. How many siblings do you have?

Nathan: I have an older brother, a younger sister and a younger brother. I think it was a constant battle of me trying to beat my older brother. It was very difficult because of the age difference. We have all been trained at different times and they would run out of the house and forget their boots or take two cars and go in that direction. It was a terrible experience, but you wouldn’t have it any other way.

Kelly: Are you around now?

Nathan: Ah yes, of course. I talk to them more or less every day on the phone. Every chance I get to go home I will. Mom goes to every game – home and away. You watch them all.

Kelly: So you fly? Are they still in Ireland?

Nathan: Yes, they live in Ireland, so he flies and goes everywhere to do well.

Kelly: Home and away?

Nathan: Yes.

Kelly: That’s some dedication!

Nathan: I know, I tell him, ‘listen, you don’t need to’ and he’s like, ‘no, I want to’.

Kelly: Not everyone has a son who is a Premier League footballer… I get the appeal!

Nathan: Yeah, I don’t think he watches sports. I think he just watches me the whole game and sees what I do. He will follow up, ‘Why were you scratching your leg so much in the game?’ … ‘I don’t know. How do you know that?’

Kelly: Oh, bless her, it’s really nice. How would your best friend describe you?

Nathan: I would like to think that they would describe me as the boy I grew up with. The first thing that would come to their mind… they wouldn’t say I’m a football player. I think they just say, ‘ah Nathan, he’s just a good lad … he’s got the craic and gets out where he can’ … but I don’t think they’d think of me as a footballer, which I really enjoy. And it means that when I’m with them, I can just be myself and enjoy being one of the boys.

Kelly: So if your boss gives you a day off, what should you do?

Nathan: It depends. If it’s a weekday and the weather’s nice, I’ll play golf with a few guys here and we’ll get out in the sun.

Kelly: Are you ready?

Nathan: I’m fine. Listen, I can play. I’m not the greatest, but I’m not the worst.

Kelly: Who are you playing with here?

Nathan: The team at the moment is me, Keane Lewis-Potter, Kris Ajer, Hakon Valdimarsson. It’s a good team because we have a lot of players and we do a little Ryder Cup style.

Kelly: Oh good!

Nathan: So players v workers.

Kelly: Hey!

Nathan: Yes, because there are many players. We did that last year. We played 18 holes in the morning, went to lunch, then played 18 holes in the afternoon and it was really fun. The players won, so thank God!

Kelly: Oh, that was my next question. Do you have any secret hobbies?

Nathan: I like to cook, so that’s something. When I cook, I think I just forget about everything. I’m in my own little space and my head is quiet, which is good.

Kelly: Are you a good cook?

Nathan: Depends on who you ask…

Kelly: If I were to ask your girlfriend…

Nathan: Yes, he’s actually saying: ‘Well, you’re getting better at cooking!’

Kelly: That’s sad!

Nathan: Yeah, and I was like… ‘Does that mean I was bad?’

Kelly: It’s understandable. What do people see most negatively about you?

Nathan: Maybe I’m getting a bit stereotypical: ‘Ah, he’s a football player.’ Maybe they get that and think, ‘oh, he’s actually really nice to talk to…nice…relaxed…cool’.

I always want to be a good person again. That’s important to me, just being a good person, a good person, a caring person. As much as I want to be the best footballer I can be, I also want to be the best person I can be and I think that’s something I’m always striving to do.

Kelly: What is the most difficult time in your career? Was there a difficult time?

Nathan: I had one game for Brentford against Wolves and I had two fouls in the game. I conceded two goals, we lost 3-1 or something like that and I got beaten up by Wolves fans because I had just left Wolves and the fans were against me, big stick. I said, ‘Oh my God, this couldn’t get any worse’.

To be honest, that night Thomas Frank called me and said, ‘listen Nathan, that’s probably the worst game you’ll ever have in your career’, and he’s like, ‘so it only goes from here’.