An interview with: Jerome Okimo
The popular defender talks his way through the early days to his time now at The Hive
Last week I was at The Hive to pick up a couple of interviews and here is the first of those for you now with Jerome Okimo, one of the unsung performers this season:
TK: Jerome, 34 years old now, were you expecting to play so many this season so far?
JO: I wasn’t expecting to no, you can’t expect to play every game but I would have been pushing to be involved as much as possible, getting to that age now where games won’t come as often I want to play.
TK: Let’s take it back to the beginning for everyone, where did you start off and the journey to get to Barnet FC today?
JO: I didn’t go through the academy route as is the case today, I played Sunday League football and then onto a B-tec course at college under Danny Edwards which led me to Chalfont St Peter, onto Wealdstone from there where I won the Ryman Premier.
Stevenage then came in for me, a couple of years there which was a great experience, then Braintree, back to Wealdstone and finally here at Barnet.
TK: That’s twice playing under Dean (Brennan) if I’m right? Who else did you get to play under at those clubs?
JO: Yes, twice now for Dean. At Stevenage it was Graham Westley followed by Teddy Sherringham and finally Darren Sarll. Three very different managers and three very different styles.
TK: As a player how do you adapt to each style?
JO: Westley of course favoured the longer ball, was very big on the mental side of the game, Teddy wanted to play total football all the time, Sarlly was a good coach. You just have to take on board what they say, and buy into what they want, only then does it become successful.
There’s always a turnover of players on styles, some can do it and some can’t, that’s to be expected.
TK: Dropping back into non-league with Wealdstone, was it a shorter league career than you expected?
JO: Yeah it was, I would have liked to have stayed in there longer but it is what it is and you just have to get one with it.
TK: But a promotion to be won when you returned to the Stones, was it a similar kind of football played then to what we see on the pitch at The Hive this season?
JO: We had a good group like now, football was possibly slightly better throughout the whole season but we were running away with the Conference South at the time. This group though can play football, they can also mix it up a bit too, we can scrap, we can play gritty as we’ve had to do a little in the last few weeks.
TK: How does this group of players compare to others you’ve been around?
JO: Definitely one of the best, there is the buy in from nearly everyone, it’s together, the camaraderie between the boys is good, you want to be around it all the time.
TK: Coaching is clearly the next big thing for you, is it something you identified early to want to move into?
JO: When I dropped out of the league from Stevenage I did look at getting my badges down and I’m at my UEFA A licence level now. It wasn’t something I definitely wanted to go into but something to have in my back pocket just in case as a failsafe almost.
I want to keep playing as long as I can, it’s not in my mind to retire yet and be on the sideline full time, once the playing days are over and the body says it’s enough then it’s time to re-evaluate.
TK: Prior to heading to Notts County you’ve played every single minute of every game so far this season and there’s no frills or flashy stuff to your game, whats the secret?
JO: Just keep it simple and basic, Tumble (John Dreyer) was a centre half and even at my age tips are invaluable from anyone on how to play the game. I certainly didn’t expect to feature as much but injuries and good form keep me in there but you have to keep playing well.
TK: Has it helped having the younger legs of Danny Collinge alongside you giving his reading of the game and your experience alongside him?
JO: He’s been a ledge this season, he’s good on the ball and in the air, a student of the game, always wanting to learn and improve there’s no doubt he will play higher at some stage.
TK: Back in August, if you had a crystal ball would it have put us in the position we’re in now?
JO: Aim for the play-off’s for sure, people might say we’re a little higher than expected. It’s difficult to judge when you bring in so many new players about how quickly things will gel between them. The way we started the season though did make me think we’ve got something good about to happen.
TK: So, if Jerome Okimo had to retire tomorrow morning, would he go into coaching or down a different career path?
JO: Coaching. I’d definitely look at that, but I’ve no plans to be retiring just yet, touch wood! Baring no injuries I think I’ve got another couple of seasons left in me but you just never know whats around the corner.
Even if someone came in with a big offer I’d find it a wrench to leave, working with the gaffer is something I enjoy and I like it here, but who knows what the future holds for any of us.
TK: Have you put any sessions on the for the players yet?
JO: No, Connor’s done a lot of them, where I’ve been playing all the time I’ve not had the chance yet so that maybe on the back burner until next season.
TK: From where we are now in the table in 5th position what’s the expectation at least from your perspective?
JO: Well we should be hitting the play-off’s from the great position we’ve gotten ourselves into, no one’s going to catch the top two, their points tally now and expected amount is a joke this season, so we have to do our best to in and around the others underneath, always looking up and not at those below us and take it one game at a time.