Ward-Prowse: I was weak and needed toughening up
WITH one stroke of his left boot, Bobby Stokes scored the most famous goal in Southampton’s history to win the 1976 FA Cup. Despite him being the hero for Southampton that day, Stokes was a Portsmouth boy through and through. And now, another Pompey lad — James Ward-Prowse — hopes to follow him into Saints folklore. The midfielder chose Southampton when he was eight, but was in the stands at Wembley when Portsmouth lifted the FA Cup in 2008. When he imagined appearing in a final one day, however, it was in red and white stripes, an ambition that will be realised in the EFL Cup final on Sunday when he faces Manchester United, the same opponents Stokes’s Saints overcame to stun the nation. ‘Regardless of where you’re from you put on the shirt and want to do your best,’ Ward-Prowse says. ‘A lot of my friends were Portsmouth fans, but that’s the career I chose. It was tough at a young age, but it was the right decision. You only have to walk down the corridors to see pictures of the club legends as reminders. The club wouldn’t be where it is now without that foundation of success. We can hopefully continue that against Manchester United.’ Ward-Prowse’s route to the top p has not been straightforward. His s technical ability was s never in question — as soon as he could walk he kicked anything that resembled a ball, even his teddy bear. But he was a slight teen and confesses he struggled with being g aggressive. His barristerister father John thought ‘he was a bit of a wuss in the tackle’ and enlisted Havant Town coach Tony Mount and hard-as-nails former Portsmouth defender Billy Gilbert to prepare his son for adult football. ‘Growing up I wasn’t always the toughest,’ the 22-year-old admits. ‘I didn’t really like tackling. My dad thought it would be good to toughen up. ‘They didn’t hold back. They gave me the feeling of being in men’s football. ‘That helped me as a young player getting to the first team and making my debut at 16. I don’t regret it at all. It was good to get a taste of that early on, it gave me a good foundation when I broke into the firs first team.’ It is surprising to hear, th then, that while early c comparisons were made to David Beckham — due to th their similar set-piece te technique — it was Ste Steven Gerrard and Fran Frank Lampard he wanted to emulate. ‘They epitomise everything a player needs to be,’ he says. ‘Aggression, scoring goals, range of passing, set-piece ability, that’s something I’ve always wanted to replicate. ‘But I want to be my own player. I want to put my own stamp on the game.’