Many of us enjoy visiting our local non-league club at the weekend and during the week. We finish work, watch the match and head home ready for a new day. But what about the players who have to fit in their work commitments around the football? How do they do it?

The Echo will be speaking to non-league stars from across south Essex this season about how they juggle two of life’s most crucial aspects – work and football.

This week we speak to Hullbridge Sports captain, Rob Hodgson, 25, who was voted Man of the Match in the FA Vase against AFC Rushden & Diamonds last weekend.

 

SATURDAY

I like to have a lay in until 9am as it makes a nice change from the working week.

It’s Coco Pops for breakfast as I like to eat light on match days. I like to relax and watch some TV or listen to some music. This allows me to chill out a little before I have to focus my mind on the game.

I’ll do some stretches before I go to Lower Road and will grab some energy drinks and a chicken wrap to eat in the car. I like to get down to the ground early so there isn’t any rushing around and I can enjoy the build up with the boys.

We won 1-0 against AFC Rushden & Diamonds, which was a fantastic result. Before the match I felt confident we could pull off an upset. The mood was different in the changing room, everyone seemed to be really up for it and no-one could really sit still.

Our following at Hullbridge is really improving, but we don’t have the fan base of Rushden, so it was especially nice to play in front of such a big crowd.

It makes you play that bit better as we battled for every ball, defended as a team and created enough chances to go ahead earlier in the match.

There is such a great atmosphere around this club at the moment and it’s just great to be part of.

A few of us went out after the match to have a couple of drinks to celebrate which I think we all fully deserved.

 

SUNDAY

I will ideally lay in until about 10am and once I’m up I like to try to force myself to go to the gym.

After the gym I will tend to spend the day in front of the television watching the football or go for a meal or the cinema. I tend to do as little as possible as I’m still recovering from the match the day before.

 

MONDAY

I have worked in London as an electrician for six years. I do domestic and commercial work which I enjoy, but it's tough and I'm always busy.

I am up at 5.15am to go to work as I work from 7am to 4pm which is a long day to be on your feet.

I live with my fiancée Megan, who I have been with for six years and been engaged to for six months.

As I get home early I can do a bit of fitness work. I like to try to keep myself as fit as possible as it helps my performance and helps keep me injury free.

After hearing the Vase draw (Great Yarmouth at home) my mind wandered a bit from work. They were underdogs in their last round match and, against the odds, won.

We won’t underestimate them and I strongly believe we have enough quality in our team to win the match and our preparation will be spot on!

 

TUESDAY

We were due to play Haringey Borough in the league, but I found out the match was off via other players who had picked it up from our club’s Twitter feed.

It’s a shame as we beat them in the final of the Gordon Brasted Memorial Trophy last season and it was our first silverware and the first for me as captain of this club.

You spend most of the day getting yourself up for matches in the week so it was a shame to have it called off, but it was something we all expected as the pitch did take a battering on Saturday.

Our groundsmen did a fantastic job to get the Rushden game on and all the boys really appreciated their effort, but the Lower Road pitch really suffers at this time of year.

 

WEDNESDAY

We usually have training to go over our tactics and patterns of play. We have a great coach in Steve Tapley and his combination with manager Mark Bliss has really helped all the lads.

Playing at this level and working for a living is always tough.

It is a major rush to get home, eat and prepare. Even playing on a Saturday means it's always at the end of a tiring week of work, but I love playing football with a great bunch of lads for this club.