BEING forced out of the game through injury at the age of 29 has prompted former Burnley schemer Damian Matthew to take a different view of things.

And it's his eye for talent and an attention to detail that will now count if he's to forge a new career in the game.

Matthew barely played a match for Northampton Town after joining the Cobblers from Burnley in July, 1998.

Debilitating back and hip injuries finally took their toll when he was forced to hang up his boots just before Christmas.

He wasn't idle for long, however, and as well as returning to former club Chelsea to coach eight and nine-year-olds at the club's soccer schools he also landed a scouting role with Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Matthew is being 'fast-tracked' through the UEFA 'B' coaching licence which he hopes to obtain in March to open more doors on the coaching front.

"If I put the dedication in I should get my badge sooner rather than later," he said.

And with Wolves, where former Clarets' assistant boss John Ward put in a good word, his job has included watching future opponents and potential transfer targets.

"I had a 250-mile round trip to Swindon on Boxing Day and you do begin to wonder what you're doing.

"But then on the Wednesday after that I got the Chelsea-Sheffield Wednesday game and I was pleased that they already trusted me to do that," said Matthew, one of the youngest faces on the scouting circuit.

The former England under-21 international should still be playing, of course, and helping Northampton try to climb back out of the Third Division at the first attempt. But the fates decreed otherwise and Matthew felt he had no choice but to give in to the injury problem, curtailing a career that started at Stamford Bridge and also took him to Crystal Palace before Adrian Heath brought him to Turf Moor for £65,000 in the summer of 1996.

"It's a disappointment but a little bit expected," he confessed after a failed comeback and 18 frustrating months at the Sixfields Stadium.

"I should have realised at Burnley because I was so stiff after games. After training, Nigel Gleghorn used to say I walked like an old man," Matthew added.

"I had the back operation and it felt brilliant and I got back playing but after three or four weeks the hip problem started to flare up.

"I could play but it was a question of how much pain I could take. I had played through the pain but in the end it just became too severe.

"When I came to Burnley, I had an inkling we would get up into the First Division and I would keep plugging away.

"But when I got down to the Third Division and there was no light at the end of the tunnel you begin to think what's the point. I'm an honest lad and I knew if I played on I would be cheating myself and unable to do myself justice.

"I decided to knock it on the head and get involved with some coaching." Matthew played a big role in making sure Burnley didn't precede the Cobblers into the basement division 12 months earlier when he forced his way back into Chris Waddle's plans and helped bring about a dramatic improvement in results.

An affable character, Matthew's career possibly didn't live up to it's high profile start with Chelsea and the England set-up.

But he was a decent player for the Clarets, who always had a positive outlook and didn't want to turn his back football.

"I love the game," he said. "We've all had disappointing times, like when I was at Burnley under Chris Waddle and couldn't get in the team.

"But I got my head down and worked hard to get back in then and I want to stay involved in football.

"I was talking to Nigel Gleghorn and he said he'd been at a game and was thinking if he was fit he could still do a job.

"But that only lasted about four weeks for me and then I knew I had to let it go and put my enthusiasm into coaching others."

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