Danny Collins On Sunderland And Stoke City, Playing Under Roy Keane And Life In The Premier League | OneFootball

You came through at Chester City and worked your way up from the Conference to League Two. How important were those early years in shaping your career?

“Massive, really. I was at Chester as a kid until I was 15, then left and played local football in the Welsh leagues. I came back to Chester in 2001, and they were struggling near the bottom of the Conference. That move got me into full-time football after playing part-time.

“Funny enough, I rejoined as a central midfielder, but my manager Mark Wright – the former Liverpool and England defender- converted me to a centre-back during training. That change was key. I had a full season there, we won the Conference, and then pushed on into League Two. It was a great platform.”

You went from playing a small number of games in League Two to moving to Sunderland in the Championship. That’s a huge leap. What was that transition like?

“It all happened quite fast. Around October, my agent rang and said, ‘Pack your bags, you’re off to Sunderland.’ I’d been doing well at Chester, but I hadn’t come through a traditional academy system, so I felt like I was playing catch-up.

“Suddenly, I’d gone from 5,000 fans at Chester to 40,000 at the Stadium of Light. That first season, I played 11 or 12 games and was part of the squad that won promotion. I’d started the year in League Two and finished it as a Premier League player – it was a whirlwind.”

What was it like stepping into the Premier League for the first time?

“It was every lad’s dream, really. That pre-season, we went out to Canada and the States. But once the season started, it didn’t go to plan. There wasn’t much investment in the squad, and a lot of us, such as myself, Dean Whitehead, and Liam Lawrence, were new to that level.

“We gave it a go but came up short and went back down. Still, you learn loads playing against world-class talent. The next season under Roy Keane, we came straight back up.”

Speaking of Roy Keane – what was the dressing room’s reaction when he came in as manager?

“There was a bit of a fear factor, of course. Everyone knows what Roy was like as a player. But working with him day-to-day, I saw a different side. He just wanted lads who worked hard, showed respect, and did things properly.

“He could lose it at times, sure, but I’ve seen that with plenty of managers. We hadn’t started well under Niall Quinn, Roy came in, brought some fresh faces, and we went on a great run to win promotion. I really enjoyed working with him.”

Dwight Yorke was one of the big characters in that team. What was he like off the pitch and in that deeper midfield role?

“Dwight was brilliant. He and Dean Whitehead had a great rapport. You’d seen him linking up with Andy Cole at United, and here he was at Sunderland, playing as a holding midfielder!

“He didn’t have the legs anymore, but his technical ability and reading of the game were excellent. He was also a great link between the dressing room and Roy. People think of him as a laid-back guy, but in training, he was focused and set the right example.”

You defeated Tottenham in the first game back in the Premier League. Did that set the tone for survival?

“Yeah, it was a big win – 1-0 with Michael Chopra scoring the winner. Starting strong gave us belief. The club invested more that time around. We brought in players like Djibril Cissé, El-Hadji Diouf, and Pascal Chimbonda, who were maybe not Roy’s typical characters, but they delivered on matchday.

“We weren’t flying, but we had individuals who could win us games, and that helped us stay up.”

Roy left the following season, and Ricky Sbragia took over. From the outside, they seem like polar opposites – was that your experience?

“Yeah, pretty much. Ricky was a fantastic coach and motivator, but probably more suited as a number two than the main man. He came in and steadied the ship after Roy left. I enjoyed working with him.

“He was respected around the place. I actually bumped into him a couple of years ago at the dentist of all places – he’d been doing work with the Scottish FA. Good bloke, good coach.”

You went on to make over 150 appearances for Sunderland. Was it difficult to leave for Stoke?

“Yeah, it was a bit bittersweet. Steve Bruce had just come in and made me captain during pre-season. We started well—beat Bolton, narrowly lost to Chelsea, then beat Blackburn. But then Steve pulled me in and said he was looking to bring in more defenders and couldn’t guarantee me regular games.

“It was a shock because I’d just won Player of the Season, and I wasn’t expecting to leave. But that’s football. I had a chat with Tony Pulis and signed for Stoke on deadline day.”

What is deadline day really like for a player? As chaotic as the media makes it out to be?

“It can be! In my case, it was all brewing a couple of days before. We played Stoke, I stayed down there, and things moved quickly after that. But for others, it can be nuts with calls at 6pm, rushing to get a deal done.

“There’s more to it than fans sometimes realise. You’ve got family, kids in school, and a home to think about. People talk about loyalty, but clubs can move players on quickly when they want to. It’s a two-way street. There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes that fans don’t always see.”

During your time at Stoke under Tony Pulis, the club was always solid in the Premier League. What made your team so difficult for others to play against?

“You’ve got to give Tony credit because he absolutely knew what Stoke were. He built a team around that identity: a strong British core with a few quality foreign lads sprinkled in.

“We had characters like Ricardo Fuller and Tuncay, and gradually a few more came in over the years. But the core was always solid, lads who knew their jobs and understood their roles.

“It was typically a 4-4-2 setup, nothing fancy, but very effective. The Britannia had this real feel about it. Big teams hated coming there. The atmosphere was electric, and physically, we were up for the fight every time.

“I joined the season after they first came up, and along with a few others like Dean Whitehead and Liam Lawrence, we helped cement Stoke as a mid-table Premier League club. We reached the FA Cup final, narrowly lost to City, and got into Europe. It was a great time for the club.”

Defensively, Stoke were always very strong under Tony Pulis. What was it like being part of that back line with the likes of Ryan Shawcross and Robert Huth?

“It was brilliant, to be honest. Tony Pulis always went for defenders who could look after themselves. Ryan and Huthy were exactly that – no-nonsense, physical, but also good on the ball. Then in midfield, we had lads like Glenn Whelan and Dean Whitehead who were hard workers who didn’t always get the credit they deserved for their technical ability.

“Further up the pitch, we had Matty Etherington out wide, Jermaine Pennant on the other side, and players like Crouchy and Kenwyne Jones up top. It was a powerful team. We were never going to dominate possession, especially against the big boys. Tony would accept that. But we played to our strengths. Little tricks like letting the grass grow or not watering the pitch to slow the game down. Those may sound like small details, but they made a difference.

“We made life tough for teams. I remember an FA Cup game where we battered Arsenal 3-1. Rory Delap launched one in early, Ricardo scored, and we never looked back. It became that cliché of who wants to go to Stoke on a wet Tuesday night? But there was real truth in it. We thrived in those conditions.”

You also worked under Sam Allardyce at West Ham during their promotion-winning campaign of 2012/13. What was that like?

“Yeah, I had a short loan spell there for about three months. I’d been at Ipswich until Christmas, but Winston Reid picked up a head injury playing for New Zealand, and that opened the door. Sam rang Tony Pulis, and I ended up going down to join West Ham. They were third in the Championship at the time.

“I played about 11 or 12 games, and we had a strong finish. Ricardo Vaz Tê scored the winner in the play-off final at Wembley against Blackpool to take us up. West Ham’s a massive club, and Big Sam knew how to get results. He’s a big personality, very direct in his approach, but incredibly effective, and he got the job done.”

Your time at Nottingham Forest looked like it had potential, but things never quite clicked. Why was that?

“Frustrating is probably the best word. I was there for three years and had five different managers. That says it all. There was too much interference from above. The Kuwaiti owners were having a say in team selection, which didn’t go down well with the likes of Billy Davies, who was a big character and had succeeded at the club in the past.

“Players were coming in that the coaching staff hadn’t even seen. It created tension and instability. We had a strong squad and came close a few times – I remember finishing seventh and missing the play-offs on the final day after losing to Brighton. But it always felt like we were just short.

“Despite that, I’ve got a lot of respect for Forest. Great tradition, brilliant fanbase, and a club that deserves to be in the top flight. They’ve found a way back now with a bit more structure, and it’s great to see.”

Another of your memorable spells came at Rotherham United under Neil Warnock in a season fans still refer to as the great escape. What was that like to be a part of?

“It was mad, really. Neil came in with 12 games to go and just transformed the place. He’s a character. First thing he said to me on the training pitch was, ‘I remember you – turned me down for Sunderland, didn’t you?’ Then he laughed and said, ‘Good decision – you got promoted!’

“He’s got his lieutenants in Ronnie Jepson and Kevin Blackwell, who do most of the hands-on coaching, while Neil watches on. But what he brings is that experience, that belief, and the banter with the lads. He keeps things relaxed but focused.

“He’s got a fantastic record of getting clubs over the line, whether it’s survival or promotion. At Rotherham, people had written us off. We were miles adrift. But he gave us belief and simplified everything. We stayed up with a game to spare. It was a huge achievement.”

“Massively proud. I made my debut in the early 2000s. It was old-school back then with top-class players such as John Hartson, Ryan Giggs, and Craig Bellamy. Big personalities. Luckily, I knew a couple of lads from the under-21s, so that helped me settle in.

“I had a bit of a fallout with John Toshack and ended up out of the squad for four or five years. But Gary Speed brought me back in. Gary was brilliant; he modernised everything, from the training to the setup as a whole.

“He laid the foundations for what Wales went on to achieve, a place in the semi-finals at the Euros in 2016 and subsequent major tournament appearances. He made the environment professional and forward-thinking.

“After Gary, Chris Coleman came in and carried the torch, then Rob Page did well to continue that.

“Now with Craig Bellamy at the helm, we’ve got good young talent coming through, and when we’ve got a full-strength XI, we can give anyone a game. We’re a proper international side now.”

“It’s been great. I retired in 2019 after a couple of seasons playing at Grimsby Town and went into media work, then started covering Sunderland more regularly. I’ve seen it all, from rock bottom in League One to finally getting back up to the Premier League.

“Those League One years were tough. We had a few near-misses, play-off heartbreaks. But finally, under the current setup, we’ve got things moving in the right direction. Last season’s play-off win was incredible. I’ve never heard the Stadium of Light like that night – Dan Ballard’s goal in the semi-final, then Tommy Watson popping up at Wembley with the winner in stoppage time. Unbelievable.

“This season will be tough – no doubt. If you offered any Sunderland fan 17th right now, they’d bite your hand off. The gap between the Championship and Premier League is massive. But we’ve already spent over £100 million this summer, and there’s more to come.

“The idea is to stay up, then build like Brentford or Brighton have done. The fanbase is there, the infrastructure is there. Last year, we had the 10th-highest attendance in English football, and that was as a Championship club. It’s time to make Sunderland a force again, but first we’ve got to survive, then progress from there.”