Liam Lawrence interview: Promotions, arm breaks and mad greeks

He may have been sat in the stands through injury when Mansfield Town clinched a deserved promotion in May 2002, but Liam Lawrence could nevertheless consider himself a central part of the team’s success.

In the early stages of that memorable campaign, the Stags had played some irresistible football and the midfielder’s creative skills down the right had really caught the eye.

Lawrence’s key strengths were his ability to deliver a pinpoint cross from the flank, whether from open play or from a dead ball.

He also possessed excellent vision to spot and deliver a killer pass and had the ‘engine’ to get up and down the line to help out defensively, qualities that drew comparisons, in playing style at least, to David Beckham.

A 4-1 demolition of fellow promotion hopefuls Luton Town and a 4-2 thrashing of Hull City were two particular highlights as Lawrence, in tandem with right-back Bobby Hassell, ran riot.

“We were playing well and winning well and scoring lots of goals and there was a massive confidence running through the side,” he said.

“It was the right time to change things at the club because they needed some fresh blood. Young players always need the opportunity and Billy Dearden was rewarded for giving that opportunity to a number of us.

“I was enjoying my football and was looking forward to the run-in, but then I broke my arm in a car crash (in the middle of February) and had to watch the run-in from the sidelines.

“It went down to the last day against Carlisle and though I don’t remember too much about the game, the most important thing was that we won 2-0.

“I do remember the celebrations went on long into the night and it was a fantastic experience to be involved in.

“It was an unbelievable achievement considering the wage bill we had compared to a lot of other sides in the division.”

Mansfield had high hopes of building on their success by establishing themselves at the higher level, but things did not turn out that way.

Although the team continued to score plenty of goals in 2002-03 - with Lawrence registering 12 in 46 appearances - the Stags let in far too many to remain competitive and were instantly relegated back to the basement division.

Another promotion campaign followed, only for the Stags to fall at that final hurdle against Huddersfield, and after 22 goals from midfield it was inevitable Lawrence would move on to bigger and better things.

He eventually signed for Sunderland, where he helped the Black Cats to promotion to the Premier League in his first season.

Lawrence said: “It was quite a difficult decision to move on from Mansfield because they’d given me my chance and I was very thankful for that, plus the fans were great to me too.

“But I just felt that I was ready to make the jump and ready to give it a go at the next level.

“I spoke to both Leeds United and Sunderland and I eventually headed for the north-east.”

Since then, Lawrence had plied his trade at a number of clubs, mainly at Championship level, including Stoke, Portsmouth, Cardiff and, currently, Barnsley.

He’s also had a short spell playing for PAOK Salonika in Greece.

“I’ve had some good times in my career since then and probably the highlights would be winning promotion with Sunderland and Stoke, as well as making my debut for the Republic of Ireland,” said Lawrence.

“It was very different during my spell at PAOK, an eye opener. There was a different style of play to get used to and the fans were just crazy.

“I did enjoy my time out there, but at the same time I was ready to come back home when the chance came up at the start of this year.”

Lawrence turns 32 in December, but is keen to continue playing for some time yet. So would he ever consider a return to north Nottinghamshire, where it all started?

He said: “I’ve still got a few years left in me yet and you never know where that might take me, but I wouldn’t rule it out for sure.

“I certainly still have a lot of good feeling for the club and I always check the results.

“It’s been a bad time for them going down to the Conference, so I’m really pleased that they have got back up and I just hope they can push on now.

“Having got back into the League, there is no point in pottering around in League. You have to try to move on to the next level using the momentum.”

Lawrence is still with the same partner, Becky, from his Mansfield days and they have two children - Thomas, 6, and Kian, 2.

With that in mind, he already has one eye on after he hangs up his boots, when he hopes to move into coaching and management.

“I’m doing my coaching badges this summer and it’s a side of the game that really interests me,” he said.

“I’m not sure what else I’d do because football is all I’ve ever known and what I love.”

Could that mean Lawrence in the One Call dug out in years to come? You wouldn’t bet against it.