麻豆约拍

1. Troy has been working hard during the lockdown

In the interview, recorded earlier in the lockdown, Troy says that even though he’s not been playing football, he’s still been busy. “I’m locked in the house, I should be able to see my kids and my missus every minute of every day, but yesterday I was on calls from 9am until 5pm. Alongside that I’ve got to eat, I’ve got to train, I’ve got to walk the dog”. Troy and his partner have a new baby son too. “What’s a good night’s sleep again?” he jokes.

2. As a child, he thought his dad had been on holiday, but he’d actually been in prison

Troy’s dad was in and out of jail throughout his childhood, but he didn’t find out until he was 18. “My mum was an angel in terms of keeping us away from what was the reality of it,” Troy says. “It was always, ‘Dad’s just gone on holiday’”. But when, aged 18, Troy invited his dad to go away with him, he discovered he had never owned a passport. “And then you asked the questions and you understand what it was all about.”

3. Troy says his teeth are a reminder of where he’s come from and what he’s achieved

Tory describes how, when he was a teenager, he was hit in the face by his dad while defending his mum from a violent attack. He says his teeth are still misaligned as a result, and he doesn’t want to change them. Although he’s now “very fortunate”, Troy says, his teeth help him to remember: “Look where you’ve come from and look what you’ve overcome. Don’t get too confident that this can’t all be taken away from you very quickly.”

6. He never expected to be a professional footballer

Troy at home

Troy had been made redundant from a job as a builder when he was offered a trial at Walsall Football Club. Although he’d always been good at football, Troy says he had never imagined he could have a professional career. “It just wasn’t in my make-up, wasn’t in my path, was never my dream.” But once he was given the opportunity, he went for it. “I realised very quickly that you can transition from my level of football to making... a solid income by playing football, [and] I kind of went, ‘OK, well let’s give this a whirl then.’”

7. He reads the comments below interviews he’s done

“It just gives me balance and perspective on if I’m talking sense really,” Troy says. “Sometimes you see people say, ‘Well, he does have a point, I understand why he’s saying that.’ Or other people might just go, ‘I just hate him.’ OK, that’s fair as well.” But he doesn’t look at what people are saying on social media, since “they’re seeking attention, so a lot of things are said to get a reaction to basically make their day a bit more entertaining.”

8. He thinks football players are put “on a pedestal”

Troy says being a professional footballer means being a role model at a young age. There is “a huge expectation” that players will act responsibly, but they may have no guidance on how to manage the large amounts of money they’re earning. At 31, he says, he’s probably near the end of his playing career, whereas “in a normal line of work, I should just be getting myself together... stop doing the Ibiza holidays, and it’s about time you bought a house now.”

9. He thinks footballers are criticised more than others for their high earnings

Troy says footballers’ salaries are “a very easy target”, and that they’re scrutinised in a way that those of other high earning celebrities, such as movie stars, aren’t. He points out that many players support their wider family too, and their earnings will only be that high for “seven to ten years max”. Troy cites recent calls for players to do more to address the Covid-19 pandemic as an example. He says that as well as the tax that Premier League players pay, “we all have charities, we all have foundations, we all give to people. And on top of that, we still made a donation.”