I come from an area where the breadline is never far away... so it’s great we can give help to the homeless

OUTSIDE the Spindles shopping centre, a keen wind ripped through the bus station like a turbine.

Down the hill, at the bottom end of Rochdale Road, it seemed the choice for dinner in the rash of takeaway outlets was limited – fried chicken, fried chicken or fried chicken.

And in the pulses of rain, fired from grey skies like needles, Oldham town centre felt bleak and inhospitable.

Just think how grim it will be when October temperatures give way to winter’s lacerating chill and your home is a cardboard box in a shop doorway.

Football is playing its part in helping the destitute – last month the entire proceeds of Vincent Kompany’s testimonial, eight miles down the road, were donated to a charity helping rough sleepers in Manchester.

And next week, Oldham Athletic will become the first professional club to open a designated hub for the homeless.

Boundary Park will become a one-stop shop for practical advice on where to receive medical care, food and shelter, while managing director Natalie Atkinson (below) will go out with the town’s Street Angels to meet the poor saps society has left behind.

Oldham’s partnership with the HomelessFriendly charity may yet be their best signing this season, especially if it prevents any more cases like the down-and-out whose toothache was so unbearable he pulled out the molars himself with a set of pliers.

Let’s get it straight: Oldham are NOT turning their ground into a hostel.

But the Latics will provide coherent help for lost souls and under their admirable ‘One Club, One Town’ ethos, players will distribute warm clothing on the streets.

The league table may read like the threatening letter, with Dino Maamria’s side just four points from the trap door, but off the pitch Oldham are making all the right noises.

Captain David Wheater, once a Premier League defender with Middlesbrough and Bolton, subscribes readily to the club’s good intentions. It is always reassuring to find players with top-flight pedigree who are prepared to get their hands dirty in the lower divisions.

And Oldham’s initiative to support the homeless strikes a chord with Wheater, whose home town on Teesside suffered real hardship after the closure of the steel works.

He said: “As professional footballers, we are in a privileged position because we are living the dream of nearly every schoolboy who ever kicked a ball. It doesn’t hurt to give something back, especially when it helps people who are less fortunate than us.

“Whether it’s warm clothes, finding them shelter for the night or a hot cup of tea, hopefully we can help them in any way we can.

“It resonates with me because I come from a part of the country where the breadline is never far away for some people.”

Wheater, 32, may find himself in the muck and nettles of League Two these days, but a decade ago he was called into two England squads by Fabio Capello.

He never won a cap, although Dean Ashton and Stephen Warnock both made the cut.

“I was on the bench for a couple of games, but never got on the pitch,” said Wheater.

“One of them was against Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean and Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson paid for all my family to fly out there, which was a fantastic gesture.

“Originally, I think the idea was for unlimited substitutions, but then there was an agreement to limit them and I wasn’t among the players used.

“People ask me if I regret never winning an England cap after being so close, but I got to train with David Beckham and Rio Ferdinand, who was one of my all-time heroes – and how many people can say that?

“Football has been good to me. I’ve had a decent career and I was fortunate enough to be called into the England squad. Not bad for a big lad from Redcar.”

Oldham are struggling to rekindle the glory days when Joe Royle was the manager and the pitch was a synthetic carpet.

But at least the initiative to help the homeless and Atkinson’s determination to tackle social issues in the club’s doorstep, shows they actually care about their town.

As Wheater put it: “The fans who have drifted away will come back if we give them something to get excited about.

“Although it’s all about points on the board, performance-wise and off the pitch we’re heading in the right direction. If we win football matches, they will support us.”

It doesn’t hurt to give something back to those less fortunate than us