Cascarino Interview part 2

Cascarino made his debut away to Burnley, but it was his home debut a week later which sticks further out in the memory. Despite being ill, Cascarino had played the previous Saturday, but was feeling a bit worse for wear come the Tuesday night visit of Wimbledon. Peacock thought it best not to risk him, and named him as fourteenth man (with two substitutes being the norm back then). After getting the train down to Gillingham, Cascarino found himself with an hour to kill, and as he explains decided to grab a bite to eat.

"There was no point in going straight to the ground because it would have been about an hour before the players arrived; I'd have just been sitting around doing nothing. So I went to Wimpy and had a double cheeseburger, fries and a Knickerbocker Glory.

"When I got to the ground and the gaffer told me I was going to have to be sub, as one of the lads had pulled out. I kept thinking, it'll not be too bad as I'm on the bench. I'll have a bit of time to digest it. So I was on the bench, praying that no-one would get injured, and jogging up and down the sideline trying to burn off a few calories. So the game starts and after only 15 minutes one of our players gets stretchered off and I was told to strip off. I ended up playing the game of my life, scoring on my home debut and we eventually won 6-1. But every game after that I was wondering should I go for a double Wimpy for my pre-match meal! It was a very funny experience."

After six enjoyable years at the Gills during which he earned his first Ireland cap in 1986, Cascarino decided it was time for a change of scenery. A move to Millwall transpired, when he developed a deadly partnership with a young striker called Teddy Sheringham, and together they fired the Lions to the top flight for the first time in their history. It was a fantastic achievement for both Millwall and Cas, and the ex-hitman is quick to praise John Docherty - his boss at the time - for the club's success.

"When I first met the manager John Docherty, he said 'you've got a fat arse, and I'm going to whip you into shape'. Once he said that, I thought he'd be good for me because I needed someone kicking me up the backside all the time. He ran me absolutely ragged. I was never as fit as I was then. He got the best out of me. I never knew I could run until I met John Docherty."

A big money move to Aston Villa followed, but due to a change of management and his much-publicised self-doubt, Cas struggled to make the impact he would have hoped. "Graham Taylor left after only six weeks and took the England job, which was a blow to me because I think Graham would have gotten a lot out of me. I never really got going at Villa. We were trying to win the league at the time and the expectation was huge. So when we didn't win it I was considered a bad signing.

"I think it was at Villa where I first experienced a real downer. Before them everything was pretty successful, and then for the first time in my career I was looking at a bad experience. That's when I started to get self-doubts. In that time I lost a lot of self-belief and I couldn't finish anything given to me in front of goal. As I spiralled downwards my performances did as well."

In 1992, Cascarino moved north of the border to Celtic, who were managed by his former Ireland team-mate Liam Brady. It was a period that the 45-year-old views as "a case of right club, but wrong time". After one season he moved back down south to Chelsea, but an injury-ravaged spell meant he never got fully motoring with the Blues.

But Cascarino wasn't worried, as he had a World Cup approaching in which he could show off his talents, and attract interest from other clubs should Chelsea decide to dispense of his services. Ireland qualified courtesy of a late Alan McLoughlin equaliser against bitter rivals Northern Ireland in Windsor Park. The Republic section of the island erupted with joy, yet on the Ireland bench, Cascarino had manager Jack Charlton on the verge of erupting with fury.

"We were chasing an equaliser and Big Jack told me to get ready to go on, but I'd forgotten my shirt in the dressing room. I had just a t-shirt underneath my tracksuit. If Alan McLoughlin hadn't scored I think he would have chinned me, because he was cracked on the sideline. Alan scored whilst he was giving me a bollocking. It was a crazy night."

Big Jack eventually forgave his target man, and they headed off for the World Cup in the USA, where their Giants Stadium victory over Italy was by far the highlight of what was a disappointing tournament for the boys in green.

USA 94 was to be the last international competition Cas played in, as the Irish side went through a period of transition. And on a club level things weren't going to plan either. When Cascarino did eventually decide to move on from Chelsea, the offers weren't exactly flooding in. An offer from third division Blackpool was less than appealing, so when French giants Marseille came in, Cascarino realised it was now make or break for him.

"On the plane going over to Marseille, I said well this is last chance saloon for me. I went there with that attitude and that I was going to give it my absolute everything. My life in London was all about going out, meeting my friends, having a few jars and basically not been as professional as I should have been. But at Marseille it was completely different. I lost around 10lbs in weight in my first season, and as I started flying so did my confidence."

Cascarino hit 61 goals in just 84 appearances for the South France club, which helped steer them to promotion back to the top tier. After three years he moved on to Nancy, where he continued banging in the goals before hanging up his boots in 2000.

A remarkable career which careered from massive highs to despairing lows, Cascarino has come a long way from the teenager on the building site. A few burgers may have been munched when they shouldn't have been, and the odd jersey may have been forgotten, but few will fail to remember the big front man with the London accent who was a central figure in the most successful period in Irish football. And whilst he's still getting his two cents in the papers every week, you can be guaranteed that there's at least one page that won't be full of tired old clichés.