Danny Simpson keeping his feet on the ground

Nov 23 2009 by Mark Douglas, The Journal

Danny Simpson has been a refreshingly down-to-earth addition to the Newcastle United squad. Mark Douglas talks to the defender determined to make his loan switch to St James’ Park permanent.

AFTER a week spent gawping at the eye-watering excesses of former Newcastle United striker Obafemi Martins, it is reassuring to learn that this season’s squad is cut from a different cloth.

The sums squandered by Martins during his frustratingly unfulfilled time on Tyneside – £40,000 of an astonishing £75,000 weekly wage in any single weekend according to a court case that began last week – are a further depressing reminder of the waste that became synonymous with last season’s squad.

With relegation has come a new determination and focus. There are still big earners at United – for the most part fully prepared to roll up their sleeves and restore the club’s former glories, it should be noted – but new recruits are a different breed entirely.

A half-hour chat with one of them – 22-year-old Danny Simpson – proves the perfect antidote to any cynicism that the Martins case might prompt.

Unassuming and polite, there is a sense that Simpson is genuinely grateful to have built “from nothing” a career that has taken him to some of the biggest clubs in England.

“I was born in Eccles, near Salford. I didn’t grow up in a nice area and it had it’s fair share of problems but as I have got older I’ve got away from that,” he said. “Every place has a bad area and that was no different. It makes you the person that you are.

“Coming from nothing makes you appreciate it a bit more when you do become a professional footballer. From nothing to playing in front of 45,000 – it’s a big thing.

“My family were a big thing for me. My mum supported me when I was young and trying to come through and she tries to get to every game that she can. She does make the games near Manchester so she’ll probably be at Preston with my brothers as well.

“It’ll be a big motivation for me. My brothers were all Manchester City fans who gave me plenty of stick about being a United player! But the big thing is they support me and it’s a great boost to have that behind you.”