By Dan Smith

Even though there’s only a two-division gap, the life of a League One footballer is a far cry from the glitz and glamour of the Premier League. I spoke to current Southend United midfielder Jack Bridge, to get an insight into his life as a professional footballer and what makes him tick.

The 21-year-old is a Southend boy born and bred. He has been part of the club since he was nine years old and owes it all down to one man when he was growing up.

‘My biggest influence growing up probably would have been my dad, he managed my Sunday league team, took me to my first game at roots hall, and to my first session with Southend’.

Being a professional footballer is something that many of us can only dream about. However, Bridge gets to live it every day. When asked about what a typical day will consist off this is what he had to say, look out for a cheeky dig at fellow team mate Ted Smith:

‘My typical day would consist of getting myself to the training ground for breakfast around 9 o’clock, after that I beat ted smith at a few games of pool nice and quickly. I’ll then prepare for training session ahead with certain exercises and then head out. After this we have some lunch and then depending on what is the plan for the week we either finish for the day or have a gym session in afternoon’ 

Bridge is part of a generation that has seen many well-known players be developed by the Southend academy. Players including Dominic Iorfa (Wolves) Isaac Hayden (Newcastle) as well as Dan Bentley (Brentford) have all come through the academy. As well as England youth, international Ted Smith who is still at the club. However, went asked who the best player he has played with is, it is a former Tottenham, Fulham, Fleetwood, Crawley and Bristol |Rovers man that springs to mind:

‘The best player I played with would be Lyle Della Verde. Growing up I’ve never seen anything like it, he could score goals from anywhere and from any situation. More recently it would be Jack Payne and Ted smith. Payney could score from nothing and Ted, you can just never score past him’ 

As well as playing with some of these future stars he has had the privilege of playing against many superb players but there was one player who stuck out more than others. This French international was superb in a match against Bridges’ Blues:

‘The best player I’ve played against was Dimitri Payet in pre-season against West Ham, he scored a hat trick against us and was unplayable’.

The route to first team football has not been as straightforward as Bridge would hope for. He has had multiple loan spells away from the Shrimpers. Including a stint at Soham Town Rangers and two spells at Conference South side Chelmsford City, where during the last half of last season he excelled scoring seven goals in 14 games from the wing. Asked about the time away this is how the young midfielder responded.

‘The 2 loans spells at Chelmsford I really enjoyed and loved playing my football there. Obviously, there is a big difference in the pace of the game and quality in comparison to league football, but it has definitely put me in good stead for the future’.

On April 30th 2016, a proud moment occurred for Bridge, he made his debut for is boyhood club against Bradford City. This was then followed up by his first start in the final game of last season away at Bury. He went on the say that it was the best moment of his career to date.

‘The best moment in my career, there could be a few up there. But if I had to pick it would be making my debut. I was nervous and excited but it was a great experience that I will never forget’.

It is not all plain sailing though as a footballer, there are many obstacles that will be placed in front of you. Including injury, not playing and low morale. As well as talking about this he also states what the lowest point in his career is so far

‘I’d say hardest obstacle is staying patient and to just keep going when things aren’t going well. When I’m not in the team or squad I just have to keep doing the right things and waiting until a chance comes along. The worst moments in football for me so far would be the injuries that I have picked up. There’s nothing worse than being injured and having to watch training and games’. 

The future certainly looks bright for Jack Bridge, a player who still has great potential and is seen by many Southend fans as the replacement for former starlet, Jack Payne. Only time will tell what happens, with only three appearances so far this season however he will certainly be looking to build upon this in the second half of the season and contribute towards a Southend play-off push.