Ben Amos: I couldn’t have wished for a better mentor than Van Der Saar
After starting out at his boyhood club Manchester United, we sat down with Wigan Athletic goalkeeper Ben Amos to discuss his journey to this point, which includes what it felt like learning from Edwin van der Saar, to growing up out on loan and now his aim to steady the ship at Wigan with Shaun Maloney..
Ben Amos: Playing for Man United never became ‘normal’ for me
As a Man United fan growing up, it was strange being involved with the club because you end up going into training with some of your idols. It took a bit of time to get my head around it and not be so overawed by it. I don’t think it ever became normal for me as such. I did get used to it in the end due to the fact I was training at the club every day.
I was 18, so only a young lad and there were so many strong characters in the dressing room. They didn’t particularly care how young anyone was, they were just trying to focus on being successful. It was a pretty ruthless changing room, but for good reason as well.
Ben Amos: I was flattered when Sir Alex gave me my Champions League debut
Sir Alex Ferguson kept a bit of a distance from the players but he was also approachable at the same time. From my experience, he was never close or pally with anyone but there were maybe or two older players who he did speak to more. He demanded respect from his aura and just the way he was. He felt comfortable giving me a start in the Champions League against Valencia, which was flattering in itself.
There were loads of people in the squad who helped me when I was coming through into the first team. Edwin van der Saar was brilliant with all the younger ‘keepers. He’d been there and done it and came through the other side. I couldn’t have asked for a better mentor than him.
Ben Amos: My loan spell at Molde provided a culture shock and it helped me more off the pitch than on it
One thing I do wish, is that I had the same experience and mindset then as I do now. It was a culture shock at Molde. Everyone understood English but not to a very good level. Everyone spoke Norwegian around the training ground and in the city and they do things very differently but it was all great experience — mainly off the pitch. It taught me how to grow up.
At the time, there were volcanic ash clouds so there were no flights on and so I couldn’t just pop back home. The loan in Norway taught me a lot of life skills.
Ben Amos: My loan spells at Oldham, Hull and Bolton
I remember being a bit frustrated at being recalled from Oldham because I was enjoying my football. I also knew that, because of the time of year, it was unlikely I’d get anymore exposure or experience that season because I was only coming back [to Man United] to provide cover.
My time at Hull City was mixed really. I managed to play some games at a good level but I had a bit of a disagreement with Steve Bruce at the time. It was a lesson on how to deal with those kind of situations. I kind of said some things that, on reflection, I shouldn’t have said and that was that.
I then went onto Bolton and knew that my contract at Man United was up and it was time to go and play football. I enjoyed it, we stayed up comfortably and it was one of the options on the table at the time when it came to joining permanently. I was familiar with the place and the people there, plus I’d enjoyed myself whilst on loan so I’d already made my mind up on that front.
Ben Amos: I enjoyed my time at Charlton — that spell made me happy
I enjoyed my time at Charlton. I was enjoying my football there and playing well so I was happy. We missed out on the play-offs in the end but it was still enjoyable. The season that I left, I had a reconstruction of my finger which curtailed the first half of my season and I wasn’t able to play much football after that so I just felt it was time for something different.
Ben Amos: There are aspirations to get promoted this season regardless of our -8 point start
My time at Wigan has been a bit of a rollercoaster so far. In the first year, all the right signs were there, the backing from the owners was great and it was quite unusual for a new group to kick on and get promoted straight away.
Having gone up to the Championship, cracks started to show with the ownership. It was a shame really because I think we had a really good chance of staying up.
This season, the fundamental goal is to stabilise things after what’s gone on but quietly, behind the scenes, I think there’s aspirations for a top six finish, even after starting the season on -8 points. That’s now down to -5 and if we’re in any sort of touching distance with eight games to go then we’ll have a chance.
I just want to be playing football at the highest level I possibly can. I think it’s very easy to forget that us footballers are very lucky to be doing what we’re doing.
Ben Amos: Shaun Maloney has a long-term plan to get Wigan back to where they belong
You can see that Shaun has a connection with Wigan and what it means to him. He’s a very modern coach, he has lots of new ideas and I think people can see from the way that we play that he wants exciting football. He’s been great with us, he’s looking at the long-term and he’s got a plan to get the club right back to where they should be.
