Pele: My West Brom Days Were Special, and Russell Martin Can Take Leicester Straight Back Up

Speaking exclusively with BOYLE Sports , former Premier League centre-back Pele has reflected on his career in English football and the clubs and people who shaped it.

Pele has shared his fondest memories of West Bromwich Albion , offered advice to new signing Barney Stewart , and revealed why he was initially a little scared of his former manager Tony Mowbray .

The defender has also given his thoughts on James Morrison stepping into management, the upsetting end to Southampton 's season, the Spygate decision over Tonda Eckert , and why Russell Martin can thrive at Leicester City .

West Brom

Memories of Playing For West Bromwich Albion?

I signed for Southampton when I first came to England , and I didn't have much knowledge about English football apart from the Premier League . Most of the teams I didn't know about, and I still remember when West Brom showed interest in me, the first thing I asked everyone at Saints was Who are West Brom and where is it?

They told me we'd played West Brom that year and that it was near Birmingham , but I didn't even know anything about Birmingham ! But once I'd signed for the club, I soon learned about West Brom . The people were amazing. My family lived in Birmingham , and my daughter was even born in the city.

I still go back now to watch games. My daughter's mother-in-law is Chris Brunt 's wife, so I'm still in contact with them too. We do some ex-players games, and it feels amazing to still represent the club. The West Brom fans were always really, really good there, so I have very many happy memories of when I played for the club.

Why Did Your Time at West Brom End?

I had a two-year contract. In the first season we won the Championship , and then we went up to the Premier League , and that season was one of the hardest in my career because I was never used to being on the bench. But being in the Premier League , you sign players who have more experience in the Premier League , and you end up being on the bench more than you would like.

When we got relegated, I was at an age where the financial side was important to me, but it was more important that I was playing because I wanted to play football, so I had to move on, but I was so happy to have represented West Brom .

Your Advice to Barney Stewart?

Falkirk was another very good experience for me. My advice to Barney Stewart ? Just be yourself. That's what will help him at West Brom . He doesn't have to change anything other than working to improve as a player all the time. That's true of any player at any age when they move clubs.

Just go and play football and enjoy it because he's gonna to meet some amazing people inside the club at West Brom who will want him to do well.

Former Teammates

Did You See Morrison as a Future Manager?

Did I always see James Morrison as a manager of the future? No, I did not! But Mozza is amazing. He's a fantastic person. Always very funny to be around, always making jokes.

But you could see he had an understanding of the game. We had two years together at West Brom , and especially in the Premier League the dressing room had some bigger characters, so Mozza was one of the quieter ones. He showed his leadership skills by what he did rather than what he said.

You always want to hope that your teammates will do well in the future in anything that they do, so I'm really happy for him too.

Thoughts on Mowbray Returning to Blackburn?

First of all, Tony Mowbray is a fantastic person. He's a very easy person to speak with, and as a player you do need that. You need to be able to speak with your manager. He's very good at listening and very good at taking information from their players. Unfortunately, not all managers have that, but Tony is fantastic, and as a coach he's very, very good too.

The first impression that I had of him was that I was a bit scared, to be honest. He's a unit. He has a very serious, almost scary face. But he was just fantastic. A gentle giant. He is one of the very best people in football.

Southampton

What Did You Make of Southampton's Season?

It was very upsetting what happened to Southampton last season. I live in the city and work in schools, so I see a lot of people and a lot of children in my job who all know I used to play for the club, and I also saw how the staff members and all the players worked really hard. Even the fans with the sacrifices they made to follow the club. To end the season like that, it was very upsetting.

My family went on holiday to Devon earlier this summer, and we met another family there who were all Saints fans. We spoke because they recognised me, and they told me the story of their youngest son. The day before, he had been wearing his Saints shirt, but obviously everybody had been doing the binocular gestures at him and passing comments, so by the next day he said he didn't want to wear his football team's shirt anymore, and that is so sad to hear. It is those little things that are really quite upsetting on how it has impacted the fans.

Was Keeping Tonda Eckert the Right Call After Spygate?

I think it's a shame what happened, but fair play to Tonda Eckert to come out and say, yes, I did it, it's my mistake.

I believe you, as a human, you make mistakes, and you have to learn from your mistakes, and he's done amazing for the club. You could see where the club was going before he came in and how close they came last season, so I do like the decision by the club to keep him. It's good to see the club sticking with him and letting him do the work to put it all behind them and get Southampton back to where they belong as a club.

What Will Russell Martin Bring to Leicester City?

I do believe that he can take Leicester City straight back up. I really enjoyed his work at Southampton . He's a great person. I remember I played against him too. I believe that they will do well at Leicester because Leicester are another big club who deserve to be in a higher position than they actually are.

He didn't get enough time at Rangers , but it's always a gamble when you move and make the decision to go to such a massive club like Rangers , where you will be expected to win straight away. Things didn't work out for him in that way, which was a shame, but hopefully it will work out for him and Leicester now.

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