Walking away from one job during the ongoing global recession is a dangerous approach to take, never mind two.

The future remains disturbingly bleak, with the number of unemployed rising by the day and the economy showing no signs of the green shoots promised by cabinet boffins many moons ago.

Those fortunate enough to be holding down a steady job are hanging onto it for dear life, with now most definitely not the time to be rocking the boat.

Gilbert: Not afraid to make tough decisions

They may spend Monday to Friday wishing they were anywhere else in the world than sat at their desk, but earning money while being bored to tears is preferable to joining the back of the ever-lengthening queue at the Job Centre.

Being happy for small mercies appears to be the mindset to take, with it glaringly obvious that there are many unfortunate souls out there who would happily step into your shoes given half the chance.

Some, though, believe that you make your own luck and steadfastly refuse to accept that riding out the storm is the best approach.

These are the people who are not afraid to make tough decisions, prepared to risk it all in the hope that better times lie just around the corner if you are only willing to take the plunge.

To them the glass is always half full, the grass is always greener and they are not going to stand by and let anyone tell them otherwise.

They may appear like lunatics to most of us, but you have to bow to their courage and applaud their determination in the face of such adversity.

With that in mind, let us turn our attention back to the opening line of this article and one man who has opted to buck the trend and take his future very much into his own hands of late.

Frustrating

Peter Gilbert is a 26-year-old footballer of some distinction, able to boast the likes of Plymouth Argyle, Leicester City and Sheffield Wednesday on a reputable CV.

However, after struggling to hold down regular first-team football with the Owls towards the end of his three-year stay at Hillsborough, the Geordie full-back agreed to have his contract terminated in April 2009.

Gilbert now faced the prospect of being out of work and quickly set about trying to find another club.

Oldham offered him the route back into the League ranks he was looking for and he duly joined up with the Latics on a short-term basis.

Unfortunately, the month-to-month terms he was offered failed to provide him with the stability he was after and he again opted to move on prior to the summer transfer window slamming shut.

He had now left two clubs in the space of six months and found himself starring down the barrel of a gun once more.

Gilbert, though, is a determined sort of character and soon landed himself a contract at League Two Northampton Town until the end of the 2009/10 campaign.

Taking the step down into League Two is regarded as a means to an end for the man from Tyneside and he recently told skysports.com's Chris Burton that he has no regrets about the decisions he has taken during the course of a hectic 2009.

"It has been a difficult time. It has been frustrating more than anything else, not knowing where you are going to be," he said.

"It's obviously hard to perform to the levels you know you can do when you're not settled, when you have not got something there longer term. It has been turbulent, but in the end I have got something until the end of the season, which is what I wanted all along.

Positive

"It gives me an opportunity to put things that have happened in the past and start afresh. I'm now looking forward and hoping to play regular football. Everyone I have spoken to in football, and friends, believe I have to start playing more regularly, and hopefully that's what is going to happen at Northampton.

"It wasn't a really hard decision. I felt a few things had gone against me at Wednesday and I shouldn't have been in the position I was in. But, in the end, that was the hand I was dealt and that was the position I was in.

"You have just got to deal with it. You have to get out there, stay positive and carry on going. It's difficult for anybody when you are out of contract, especially this summer, it's very hard. It has been taking longer to get something sorted out than it has done in the past. But for me I tried to stay positive and hang in there."

Gilbert admits he never expected to stay at Oldham for long, as he was only drafted in as cover at left-back, but he is confident that he can soon start climbing back up the League ladder.

He said: "I knew that I could play in League One and Oldham gave me an opportunity. It was on a month-to-month basis, but the manager wanted me to come in and I didn't have a problem.

"Looking back it was a difficult situation because if I had stayed at Oldham past the deadline, then my registration would have been stuck with Oldham until January. Between then and January, if their left-back had got fit and their board didn't want to pay for another left-back, I was only on a month-to-month deal and they would have had my registration until January.

"I would have been in the situation Sol Campbell is in now where his registration is with Notts County. It was a difficult situation, because I could have stayed there, but then any time after that deadline they could have let me go and I wouldn't have been able to play for anyone until January.

"I was in a position where I was playing at Oldham, and I wanted to carry on playing because I was enjoying it, but at the same time I was thinking that it was a really big risk. A couple of months down the line they might not have wanted me. It was too much of a risk.

"They had a left-back, so they were doing me a favour and I was doing them a favour. I just wanted to play games though, and at the same time I had the opportunity for people to come and watch me. If it didn't work out there and least I had played some games. I enjoyed it. I would have liked to have stayed there but they already had a left-back and I knew that before I went in there."

Gilbert insists he is happy to have penned a season-long contract at Northampton, keen not to get tied down for too long, and hopes playing regularly for the Cobblers will help him to re-establish a reputation as one the most consistent full-backs outside of the top flight.

Options

"During the summer I had options, but I only wanted a contract until the end of the season," he said.

"I wanted to get a good team and then go from there. The reason I wanted that is because I was offered something a bit longer at other places and I didn't want to be there that long. I just wanted somewhere to get a good season.

"It was a bit of a risk on my part, but I felt that with only a year contract I would push myself and get more out of myself. Not having the long-term security would help to push me a bit more and not fall into a comfort zone, like I did at Sheffield Wednesday.

"It puts me back in the shop window as well. I get a season playing football, putting myself in the window and really starting again. I wanted something just for a season to see where it would take me.

"Obviously I have had longer contracts and I have fallen into a comfort zone so now I'm just happy to be playing regular football at a good club, with a good pedigree. Unfortunately they got relegated last season, and a lot of players have moved on, but it's a good club.

"And with Malcolm Crosby going in there as the gaffer's (Ian Sampson) number two, he has brought a lot of experience from Middlesbrough. It was a good opportunity to learn from him as well, because he has coached a lot of Premier League players. I felt I could play regularly and get good coaching as well."

He added: "I still believe that I can play at Championship level given the opportunity. All I need is a fair crack of the whip. I want to get back to that level. I just need to be playing regularly between now and the end of the season and see where that takes me.

"It's easier to get a club when you have been playing games. I think that was the case at Wednesday. There were people saying 'yeah we like him but he hasn't been playing as many games as we would have liked'. Now I have the opportunity to get out there and show what I can do."

Northampton have not enjoyed the best of seasons so far, struggling to adjust to life back in the fourth tier.

Stuart Gray paid the price for the club's slow start, and relegation last term, when he was shown the door in September and the Cobblers have yet to establish stability.

Capable

Gilbert, though, insists they are heading in the right direction and maintains that in a fiercely-competitive division they are not yet out of the promotion picture.

"I have only been here a few weeks, there is a new manager in that hasn't been in charge long, but I think he has given them a base to move forward," he said.

"They had a bad start to the season but I think things are starting to turn around. We haven't been losing too many games, but we have been drawing too many. If we can start turning draws into wins we will start moving up the table.

"He's (Sampson) obviously trying to bring a few players in. He wants players that he wants in, but if the previous manager has spent the budget, it's difficult. He has to really work with what he has got.

"Sometimes, teams coming into League Two, it takes time to adapt to this division, but since he's been in charge there is promise there. We know what our qualities are, but need to get some results. If we can turn draws into wins we will be back up the league, which we are more than capable of doing.

"The thing in this division is that there are a lot of games. There are a lot of games left and a lot of points to be won. If we can put a run together between now and Christmas, and be within a handful of points of the play-offs in the New Year, I think the momentum will definitely be with us."

Gilbert is hoping he can play a significant part in helping to bring about a reversal in fortunes at Sixfields, as he admits that being a member of a winning team will help to further his cause in the future - wherever that may be.

"I have come here to work hard for a season and what I have seen of Northampton Town there is no reason why we can't make the play-offs, there is always a team which comes from nowhere," he said.

"Everyone can beat each other in this division, and there is no runaway team.

"While I want to play regularly, I want to be in a team that's winning as well. I don't just want to sit around being happy playing. I want to do well with Northampton, however long I'm here for. If you are winning and doing well, the rest will take care of itself. The idea is to stay fit and just to carry on playing."

back to top