Tony Roberts on His Hoped-For Return to League Football with Dagenham

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Now it's payback time for Roberts - Apr 15 2007 Andy Rose, Wales on Sunday

FEW players can put a figure on the true cost of becoming a professional footballer - but Tony Roberts is about to find out.

The former Wales goalkeeper expects to discover this week the size of the bill he must settle before he can join the rest of his promoted Dagenham and Redbridge teammates in the Football League for next season.

Roberts quit the professional game at 29 after suffering a serious injury to his left hand while playing for QPR against Ipswich in 1998.

But after consulting experts in the United States, he was able to return to non-league action in 2000 using a specially designed protective splint inside his goalkeeping glove.

Now seven years and some 300 Conference appearances later he knows he will need to pay back some or all of the £150,000 insurance payout before he can be readmitted to the professional ranks.

"I'm waiting to see how much it is going to cost me before I make a decision on my future," said the 37-year-old.

"I should find out in the next few days. The lads have all been winding me up telling me how they are all being promoted but I can't go with them and a few fans have joked that they will lend me a few quid. But I think it's going to take a bit more than that."

How much more, Roberts dreads to think. But he always hoped this day would eventually come.

"I knew when I received the payment that I'd have to pay it back if we ever got promoted and that is what I came to Dagenham to do," he said.

"After going very close in the first few seasons the last few have been more about rebuilding a young side but we've achieved what we set out to do now and even though I might not be able to join them I'm still happy about what we've done this season."

He must have known what was around the corner when he picked this season to be his testimonial year with the Daggers and the money raised could come in very handy very soon.

Roberts and his teammates sealed the Conference title and promotion last weekend although he admits the financial implications of success have been sinking in for a while.

"I've been thinking about it for a few weeks and now I just want to find out for certain how much it will cost so I can decide what to do next," he said.

"I'm 37 now but I'm still feeling all right and I'm desperate to keep playing. As long as I look after myself I am sure I can keep playing at a decent level.

"Look at people like Neville Southall and David Seaman. Nev played into his 40s at a higher level than me so I would love to do the same. Experience counts for a lot when you are a keeper and I feel I'm a better keeper now than when I was at QPR years ago.

"Mentally I'm a lot stronger and I seem to know the game better."

Indeed it was Southall's longevity between the posts which prevented Roberts from winning more than the two caps he has to his name.

"I finished when I was 29 and I'm still as hungry as ever," he said. "I would love to be a professional again. But I'm not thinking too far ahead at the moment.

"I haven't even got a figure in my head about what I can or cannot afford. I might get a nice or a nasty surprise.

"I don't like to plan ahead at my age because every game or even training session could turn out to be my last. You just never know what may happen."

But whatever the financial hangover proves to be, Roberts' campaign is still far from over.

"We've got two weeks of the season left and we want to enjoy it," he said. "After winning promotion we got beat on Monday and again on Wednesday. That's the first time in over a year that we've lost two on the spin. It looks like we lost a yard or pace somewhere along the way, probably in the bar, I would guess.

"We're booked up to go to Marbella for a week but because I'm the old boy, I'm only going for a weekend.

"I've also got the four nations tournament with Wales coming up." As for next season, who knows. Roberts Payback