ACE HEARN IS TURNING UP THE BAS
LIAM HEARN is going to keep enjoying the new lease of life Basford United have given him.
The 32-year-old scored 47 goals for the Nottingham club last season, including 39 in the league as they romped to the EVO-STIK South title.
It marked a big return to the goalscoring charts for the prolific former Quorn, Alfreton Town, Grimsby Town and Lincoln City striker as he swept the end of season awards and was crowned the division’s best player by the Northern Premier League.
“It was a good season,” Hearn told The NLP. “To be honest, I feel like I could have scored more but that’s the way I am. It’s not something I lose sleep over because to score 47 goals is an achievement at any level. I scored 39 league goals, which I was happy with, although I really wanted 40. But my target was 30 so I outdid that.
“I’ve had managers and different agents approaching me asking where I’m at which I found quite funny because I think, ‘Where were you last season and the season before?’
“People didn’t want to give me that opportunity but Basford did. Now I’ve signed an extra year because they were there when no one else was and that’s something I really appreciate.”
Hearn appreciates every game too. Having overcome some bad injuries during his time at Grimsby, the former England C forward now has week-long schedules and training programmes – provided by former Mansfield physio Chris Bowman and Basford’s physio Cameron Nind – during the season to make sure he’s as prepared as possible for the game at the weekend. Martin Carruther’s Basford will be keen to make an impression in their first season at Step 3 and Hearn says he’s ready to go again for the new campaign after unplugging during the summer.
“It’s important because football is not life,” Hearn said. “There’s so much more to life – family, work, mental focus, so many aspects. Sometimes I think people get stuck in football and think football is everything.
“The older you get, and when you go through the difficulties and hardships I’ve faced, you begin to realise it’s not everything.
“The things I used to get het up about as a youngster don’t really bother me anymore.
“The gaffers here have been really good with me. They told me how they work and they didn’t disappoint. Last year was one of my best footballing years in terms of how much I enjoyed it. All the lads contributed to that massively.
“I just appreciate things. After the set-backs I’ve had, you look and think, ‘Why did that bother me so much? Why was I so caught up on that?’ Now I take each game as it comes, enjoy training and playing because you never know when it’s going to finish.”
As well as signing a new deal, Hearn has also been appointed the club’s Head Lead Coach for their community programme.
“I love coaching at the academy,” Hearn said. “It’s the best feeling for me to give something back to the area I grew up in and coach kids who grew up in the same environment as me.”