Journalist reveals legend’s advice to a young hopeful

A previously unpublished interview transcript has revealed heartfelt advice Gordon Banks offered to a young goalkeeper he had never met.

The World Cup winner offered the words of wisdom “not just for football but for life” during an interview with a journalist at the Leicester Mercury.

Lee Marlow shared the transcript on Twitter yesterday, saying it had been pinned to his son’s wall for the last seven years.

“Hello Lucas, your dad told me that you want to be a goalkeeper? Good lad,” said Banks. “We always need good goalkeepers.”

In the transcript Banks encourages the eight-year-old to train with a smaller ball, as “playing with a bigger ball will seem much easier” and test his reaction speeds with table tennis and tennis balls.

The former England international, who won 73 international caps, also tells Lucas, who is still a goalkeeper, to keep practising as “the more you play, the more your eyes will get better at spotting the angles”.

“And be brave too, if you lose or make a mistake. We all make them – I made some mistakes – but I never let anyone see I was upset.”

Marlow said: “He didn’t have to say all that, this World Cup winner, but he took the time to give advice to an eight-year-old boy he never met, and it’s a testament to the man.”