CLAYTON Ince will not be fazed in the slightest if he fulfils his ambition of playing in the World Cup finals in South Africa with Trinidad & Tobago next year.
It’s just a question of distilling the goalkeeper’s role right down to its basics. Cutting out all the frills. Wherever you are in the world, however big the crowd and whatever the level of football, those basics apply. The goal is the same size behind you and there are 11 blokes trying to get the ball past you.
“Whatever game you play in, the job is the same,” said Ince. “Basically, keep the ball out of the net, whatever it takes.
“There are a lot of different things you need to do sometimes to prepare and condition yourself physically but when you go out on the pitch, you take the same mentality into every situation, every game you play.
“Conditions vary in some atmospheres, especially at Mexico at high altitude. There are differences in the grass, the bounce, the texture but whatever the conditions, whether the ground is hard, rough, bare or muddy, keeping the ball out of the net is what I am there to do and I have to adapt.
“I have played at the Azteca in Mexico City and River Plate, in Argentina, and they are amazing places. I think anybody in football would love to play at those grounds.
“At River Plate it takes about two hours to get out of the ground and then you have to still get through all the traffic because so many people attend the games.
“The dressing-rooms are huge and the crowds are a long, long way from the pitch but there is still so much noise you can’t hear your team-mates. It’s really difficult to communicate. Then you come back to Walsall and the crowd is right on top of you, so the fans seem even closer than ever. It is a huge contrast but every game, whether in front of 100,000 or 5,000 and whether it is top-class football or among players who are trying to get to that level, it is the same. You have to shut out all the circumstances, focus on the pitch and keeping the ball out of the net.”
Now in his third season at Walsall, Ince has become a big favourite with the fans for his command of his area and shot-stopping. Next summer, he would love to be defying strikers on the biggest stage of all stage in South Africa. Back in the international fold, he has figured throughout Trinidad & Tobago’s World Cup qualifying campaign to help them through to round four of the North, Central and Caribbean Region stages.
“I would love to play in a World Cup,” he said. “I was a part of the squad for the last finals but didn’t play. This time, I want to go with my country as No 1.”
Ince was back in globetrotting mode last month when T & T launched their qualifiers against El Salvador. The 36-year-old played for Walsall against Hartlepool and Colchester on successive Saturdays and in between lined up alongside the likes of Dwight Yorke and Carlos Edwards in San Salvador where the Soca Warriors drew 2-2.
With an arduous group ahead, the Saddlers could lose Ince again for a game or two here and there, but he knows he has a worthy rival for the shirt at Walsall in Rene Gilmartin. “We have nine qualifying games to play,” Ince said. “Most of them are in the off-season in England but there are one or two where we might have to juggle things.
“I will sit down with the manager but Rene did very well while I was away last month and it is good to know that we have back-up. It is not a question of a No 1 goalkeeper and No 2 goalkeeper - whoever plays, we back up each other. Rene is a good goalkeeper.”