Veteran Mulgrew reflects on his latest moving day
NOW 33, the Scotland man trains harder than ever, has cut meat out of his diet and has become a vegan in an effort to continue his career past the age of 40.
Even an unexpected loan move away from Blackburn Rovers, where he was club captain until recently, to Wigan Athletic was treated as another chance for him to show off rather than a perceived negative.
Charlie Mulgrew gets a hard time from some Scotland supporters but over 39 caps he has been a fine servant to his country and is liked and respected by all.
The Glaswegian is one of the good guys and to spend time with him is good for morale.
“The move came as a shock, I was sitting in Starbucks at three o’clock with Paul Caddis and I got a phone call about it,” admitted Mulgrew. “It all just happened so quickly, and funnily enough my battery ran out on the way to the training ground, so I never had a phone and I never had the postcode. I’m asking people where the training ground is! It was old school, I ended up asking three people where the Wigan training ground is.
“One sent me the wrong way, but eventually three wee boys put me back on track and sent me the other way.
“It was down a wee dirt road and it’s hard to find, so the secretary was out on the road and flagged me in. I ended up signing with a minute to go, and it still wasn’t cleared until the next morning. The FA have to go through them all, so it was a bit mental.
“Those wee boys sorted me right out, so I’ll go in for a carry-oot for them next time I see them!
“Scotland is always on your mind, but it happened that quickly I never really had time to think about anything. It was all done in the space of a couple of hours, so I had to make my mind up quick.
“The fact that it was accepted, that told me it was probably for the best that I went and gave my all for Wigan.
“It just happened last minute. It came out the blue. I spoke to the manager, we had a discussion, and then that afternoon Wigan came in. It was accepted, I didn’t need to move house and there was no big upheaval.
“It’s a chance for me to go and play some football and help Wigan if I can, so that’s what I want to do. I’m happy, it’s great. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Mulgrew is likely top start against Russia on Friday night. Steve Clarke is a fan and the feeling is mutual.
The former Celtic man has played under a few decent managers in his time and has enjoyed the few sessions his relatively new manager at international level has put together.
“It was good last time and it was a good week building into the games,” he said. “To get a win in the first game was good and then it ways always going to be difficult going away to Belgium but we dug in and there were a lot of positives to take from the game.
“With the class of player they’ve got it’s hard but hopefully we can get another couple of good results. There is a lot of belief we can. We’ll have a game plan and be ready to go when it comes.
!It’s very organised – right from day one. It’s about organisation and everyone knowing their jobs. You’d be amazed in football how much that doesn’t happen and it’s off the cuff – but definitely not here. It’s a proper game plan and everyone knows their job. That’s all we can ask then it’s up to us.”
Mulgrew has made the most out of his career. He was released by Celtic but became good enough to return and win Footballer of the Year along with five titles.
And he captained Blackburn back to the Championship from League One, a campaign which saw him score 14 goals, many of them sensational free-kicks with that wand of a left-foot.
Mulgrew gives his all every day and the hope is his professionalism and attitude rubs off on others. They should be taking notes.
He said: I hope when I train that I lead by example, train hard and talk to them when I can.
“It’s up to their club to speak to them and they’re probably learning their all the time. I don’t want to interfere with that, I just like to lead by example and if we speak on the pitch when we’re training then so be it.
“The games are massive. These are the big games you want to be involved in and it would be great to get results.
“I hope the fans come out because they help us. I know it’s said a lot about the 12th man, but at Hampden it’s a big help for us.
“Hopefully we can get them to turn out for us, because we need all the help we can get.”
It was down a wee dirt road and it’s hard to find, so the secretary was out on the road and flagged me in. I ended up signing with a minute to go