The little-known job that Rickie Lambert had before Southampton and Liverpool stardom | OneFootball

Before Rickie Lambert became a Premier League striker, his rise to stardom was unique by grafting away in a 9-5

Rickie Lambert didn’t follow the typical route to Premier League success for Liverpool and Southampton as his early career was anything but conventional.

Before Rickie Lambert became a Premier League hero for the Saints, his path to the top flight of English football was anything but straightforward. There have been instances of top professionals working their way up through the leagues right the way from non-league, perhaps none better known than Leicester City's Jamie Vardy.

However, before the goals, the promotions and the England caps in Lambert’s career, his life looked very different and by no means followed the traditional route that footballers take to the top.

After spending five years as a Liverpool youth player, the striker was released as a teenager and struggled to find a club willing to take a chance on him, meaning that the Englishman’s career could easily have fizzled out before it truly began. But by sticking at continuing to pursue his dream part-time for a lower league contract with Marine, Lambert juggled his footballing journey with a job that would take many fans by surprise.

Rickie Lambert came from humble beginnings and became an England international

Before Lambert was known for bullying centre-backs and scoring goals that gave Southampton fans many memorable moments, the striker was working full-time at a beetroot-processing factory while playing in non-league in the hope of keeping his football dreams alive.

His job was to screw lids onto jars of beetroot. Nothing glamorous by any means, however, his determination to make it, serves as a reminder to all players with high aspirations that there is no academy fast-track or silver spoon for that matter.

Lambert proved that, despite being a factory worker, he was earning a living in a job that had nothing to do with football glory, but ultimately that route into full-time football shaped the player that he went onto become.

The forward eventually worked his way into professional football by being somewhat of a journeyman before settling at Southampton. Stints with Macclesfield, Stockport, Rochdale and Bristol Rovers led him to international fame, but each move was another step away from the production line and closer to the Premier League dream.

He quickly became a talisman in the Football League, especially with Stockport in the 2005/06 League Two season being the pick of the bunch. In 46 league games, Lambert scored 22 goals and provided 15 assists, which really kick started his career.

With Bristol Rovers queuing up for his signature, he only went from strength to strength by consistently putting up double digits for goals, highlighting that he could produce even by stepping up a level to League One, where he scored 29 goals in 2008/09.

Rickie Lambert's was the ultimate late bloomer for Southampton and England

By the time Southampton signed him in 2009, Lambert had already rebuilt his career from nothing and what followed was extraordinary. He continued to be a fine finisher in the third tier and led the Saints to back-to-back promotions with 20+ goal hauls in both of those campaigns.

Lambert then, remarkably, didn't stop there, as he scored 15 Premier League goals in his debut top-flight season. Very few strikers rise from non-league uncertainty to become the heartbeat of a team climbing from League One to the Premier League, but Lambert did just that, as he became the starman wherever he ended up.

Lambert’s story has always resonated with fans because it feels real and relatable due to him having a 9-5, ordinary job, before embarking on the journey of being a professional footballer.

His England call-up at age 31, scoring a bullet header to earn a 3-2 win against Scotland, was a perfect introduction to the international stage despite coming so late on in his career. In an era where elite footballers often come through top-level academies and provide an entry route, Rickie Lambert’s rise remains one of the most relatable and inspiring stories in modern English football.

From beetroot jars to international goals, his story proves that determination can take you further than talent alone. And for that, Southampton fans will always remember that the man who once worked in a factory turned out to be one of the Premier League’s great late-blooming success stories.