Albion look to turn good will into loan stars; BOSSES LIKE TO LEND PLAYERS TO FOOTBALLING SIDES- MOWBRAY.

Byline: ROB TANNER

as a young player in his native Banbury, to return as a part-time goalkeeping coach as well as continue his fantastic role as the club's community officer, a role he has built up from scratch..

IT IS often said that Walsall FC is a family club and if that is the case, then club stalwart Mick Kearns is the Big Daddy.

Kearns has been associated with the club since joining as a player in 1973; even when he retired and became a bar steward at his local club in Aldridge, he was still a regular at Fellows Park, coaching promising young goalkeepers.

Now, 36 years after he first donned the gloves and strode between the posts for the Saddlers, Kearns is still a massive presence around the club.

He has accepted an offer from manager Chris Hutchings, whom Kearns discovered

As the dust settled on another hectic season at the Banks's Stadium, Kearns took time out to reflect on his time with the Saddlers because besides his late wife Norma and the odd pint of Guinness, Walsall FC is Kearns' great love.

"I joined in July 1973," he recalled.

"I was at Oxford United and Ronnie Allen had just taken over at Walsall as manager and Ken Wheldon hadn't long become the chairman. Ronnie tried to sign me from Oxford and I came up for talks.

"I signed there and then in 1973 and right through to 1979 when I joined Wolves, I think I only missed a handful of games.

"When I was at Oxford, we signed a player called Keith Gough from Walsall. I spoke to Keith about the club and he told me what a great club it was. He still lives in Willenhall now. He sold the club to me, but I didn't need much persuasion." Kearns, who made nearly 300 appearances during two spells with Walsall and was capped 18 times by the Republic of

Ireland, became a big fans' favourite. "I was welcomed from the very start by the club and supporters and I always had that affinity with the fans," Kearns said.

"I can remember the day before I got married in 1977, we were playing away at York City and it was known that I was getting married.

"There must have been half-a-dozen supporters who ran on the pitch at the end of the game with wedding presents for me. In those days, you came off with just your cap and gloves and there was me carrying all these wedding presents!" Although Kearns never experienced a promotion season with Walsall, he was involved in some memorable cup ties and a famous 3-2 FA Cup victory over Manchester United in January 1975 will live long in the memory of Kearns and the supporters.

"We played United away twice in three years in the FA Cup," Kearns recalls.

Touts "The first time we played them, we drew 0-0 at Old Trafford and beat them 3-2 at our place after extra time.

"I had never come across it before but when I was parking the car up before the replay, on the old ash car park at the Hilary Street end, I got out of the car and about half-a-dozen touts jumped on me to see if I had any tickets. They were at such a premium; I didn't have any.

"It was fantastic for the club because it generated money, fantastic for the players because of the glory of it, but above all for the supporters, because you don't get those opportunities very often.

"For them to see their team not only play against the likes of United, but actually win. It is so easy to think about the club and the players but the glory for the supporters is brilliant." Kearns is now focused on a busy summer of community projects, including half term football coaching courses and is awaiting the decisions of goalkeepers Clayton Ince and Rene Gilmartin over their contract offers from the club.

"Chris has asked me to do some coaching with the keepers and that is something I am going to do and devote myself to, because I don't want to mess about with it. I want to do it properly," he said.

"When I came back, I thought whether it was something I wanted to go back to, since I'd been out for two or three years but, within a very short period of time, I did enjoy it. Hopefully, it will work out." For details of Kearns' coaching courses, call 01922 644742, or email community@walsallfc,co.uk..

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COACHING ROLE: Walsall stalwart Mick Kearns