Rhys Bennett, who was the guest of honour at the Rochdale v York City match entertained hospitality diners with a question and answer chat with Martin Culshaw below:
You started your career down the road at Bolton Wanderers, was football something you always wanted to pursue as a career? “I was lucky that I was quite good at football at a young age and when I said I wanted to play football my family were behind me”
How did your time at Bolton Wanderers come about? What age did you join them? “I was playing in a local kids side and we were quite good and unbeknown to me Bolton had sent a scout to watch a few of our games. There were about 5 or 6 of us that they approached to play for them”
Under manager Owen Coyle, you were restricted to reserve appearances for Bolton which saw you head North of the border to Falkirk scoring on your debut against Brechin City. I bet you thought this football lark was gonna be easy? “I just wanted to play football. From around 16/17 I’d played reserve football so when I arrived at Falkirk I was like a caged animal and I just couldn’t wait to play”
We see players join Rochdale on loan from Clubs all over the country. You went to Scotland aged 20. What is it like for these young lads, going to the other end of the country to join a Club where they possibly don’t know anybody and live in a hotel? “I can only speak for myself but as I say I couldn’t wait to go and play. Rochdale and a few others had enquired about me which I wasn’t aware of at the time but Bolton wanted me to experience “growing up” as well as men’s football so that why they sent me all the way up there. It was hard at like 19 years old, first time living on my own away from family. I’d ring up my mum and say that I had cut my finger what should I do! I enjoyed it though and it helped make me as a person”
Following that loan spell you then signed here at Rochdale at the start of the 2012/13 season under manager John Coleman, which was a bit of surprise as you aren’t from Liverpool! Did you put on a scouse accent when you spoke to Coley or something? “I think there were only six none Liverpudlians in the squad!”
How did the move to Rochdale come about and what was it about Spotland that made you think that was the right move? “John (Coleman) had enquired about my availability the previous season but as I say Bolton wanted me to go away for a bit to learn life I suppose”
As supporters we saw a bit more of a tough underbelly should we say from the players. Was that the John Coleman effect and the type of players he brought in? “Complete opposite. He was calm and measured. I wanted to learn and get better and he’d be like if you each pay us £10 you can leave early today!”
It was under Coley that you netted your first Rochdale goal, ironically against this evening’s visitors York City. When you here you think of a header from a set play but this was slightly different, Can you remember anything about that goal? “I’d been getting a bit of grief from the manager about certain aspects of my game and on this day I thought you know what, I’m gonna be greedy and not pass to anybody so when I picked up the ball in my own half I thought let’s just run, so I did and then when I slotted it in, I was like oh, I’ve scored. What do I do now!”
In the January of 2013 Coleman was sacked and we saw the return of Keith Hill who had already overseen one promotion here at Rochdale. Did you know much about Keith before he came in as the new manager? “Only that he was a legend here at Rochdale. Everybody seemed scared of him as he was a bit more tough talking than the previous manager but we all knew to respect that”
Keith’s first game back at the club was a Friday night game down at Cheltenham. A 0-0 draw at Whaddon Road in a game that will be best forgotten as a spectacle but will be remembered for the weather on the journey home with horrendous snow from Stafford North seeing a treacherous journey home for the supporters but they were happy with a point on the road and the return of the messiah. Do you remember that journey? I know the coach didn’t have any problems but players couldn’t get home so some stayed on Jack the Kitman’s sofa if I remember right? “I remember the game not being up to much but it was about stopping the run of bad results. I do remember the journey home and quite a few of the players had to share rooms at the Norton Grange as they couldn’t make it back to their houses”
Your season was cut short due to a serious knee injury? How difficult is it as a player when you know your season is over and you are working with the physio day in day out? “It was March and when I knew I’d done my knee, I was gutted, more so that I knew I’d be in all over the Summer when players get time off! To be fair, the Club still allowed me to go on holiday so it wasn’t all bad”
It was in your second season here at Rochdale that Keith guided us to promotion back to League One, a season where you featured 22 times in the league. As a player, what was the feeling like when we beat Cheltenham here at the Crown Oil Arena to secure promotion? “Amazing feeling. It was strange though as we kind of knew we should get promoted with how the season had gone. We probably should have done a bit better and finished first or second but getting that promotion was a good moment. We had some fantastic players that season Joe Rafferty, Michael Rose, Peter Vincenti, Matty Lund, Jack O’Connell, Scott Hogan”
Two players that were in that squad are still featuring quite heavily this season with Josh Lillis as our goalkeeper coach and Ian Henderson proving that age is just a number at the ripe old age of 40 and still scoring goals? “Knowing how I feel and how my knees feel, Hendo is like seven years older than me now so for him to still be playing is testament to him. I’m looking forward to seeing him play tonight if he comes on”
After another couple of season playing in league One, your time here came to and end and you moved to Mansfield. How did that move come about? Was it your decision or Keith Hills? “It was kind of mutual. I’d had injuries and other players had come in so I knew I wouldn’t play every game”
Not long after you arrived at Field Mill, Adam Murray the manager, who signed you was sacked and replaced by one of the real characters in Steve Evans, what’s he like to work under? “Exactly like you see on the touchline. He’s just like a really angry man. He liked me though so it was good for me. When he first walked into the dressing room at Mansfield he went around every player saying Hi so it was like, Hi Joe, I’m Steve, Hi Adam but when he got to me he was like, ahh Rhys, great to see you again, can’t wait to work with you and I was thinking, I don’t know you”
You followed Steve to Peterborough? “There were times at Mansfield where he didn’t like me and I didn’t really care for him so when he left I then got a call off him saying that he wanted me to go to Peterborough. I rang my girlfriend and said that Steve Evans wanted me to go to Peterborough and she was like is that the guy, who you don’t like and he doesn’t like you?”
What is it that Rhys Bennett does these days? “I fell into self-employment really. I own a business that delivers parcels for EVRI so if you don’t receive your parcel it’s probably my fault! When you leave football it great to come back on nights like this and forget about real life and sit with supporters reminiscing and talking about football”
