Brits abroad - Pat Heard

Former Everton and Aston Villa player Pat Heard discusses his adventures in the jungles of Borneo.

Pat Heard started his career at Everton before earning a European Cup winners' medal with Aston Villa in 1982 and going on to enjoy a successful career with Sheffield Wednesday, Newcastle United, Middlesbrough as well as home-town club Hull City. But it was a move to Brunei at the age of 32 that really opened Heard's eyes to life beyond British shores. Adam Bate caught up with him to find out more...

How did the move to Brunei come about?

Mick Lyons was out there as manager and I knew him from our time at Everton and Sheffield Wednesday when we'd been team-mates together. I just got a phone-call out the blue asking if I'd fancy a season out in the Malaysian league playing for Brunei - it was a country but they still played in the Malaysian league. I didn't have a clue where Brunei was in the world or anything about it. But at that time in my life I wasn't doing anything. I'd retired or should I say football had retired me. Nobody wanted me anymore. So they sorted my tickets out and that was it, I was on my way. No agents involved!

What were your first impressions?

When I arrived it was Ramadan. I'm not a religious person and had never come across things like that before. It was very religious out there. You even had religious police and everything else. It was a very strict Muslim country and the rules were not to be broken. That was a culture shock because it affected the way we trained, what we could eat and what we couldn't eat... And what we could drink and what we couldn't drink! It was a dry state so there were no bars or nightclubs. It was a big change!

How did you get around that one?!

On our days off we could actually jump in our car and go into Malaysia. Brunei is on the island of Borneo but there are two states of Malaysia also on the island and they were normal rules. You could get beer there. So we used to travel. It took us maybe an hour of driving through the jungle before you got to the border. It was like something out of World War II. You checked your car out of Brunei and then you'd have 100 yards of no-man's land before you drove to the Malaysian border. After half an hour you came to the first town which was a small fishing village where you could buy beer and spirits. We used to spend the day there rather than be bored in Brunei sat twiddling our thumbs.

Some interesting trips then?

Oh yeah. The first away trip we went on was catching the plane which was unbelievable to us at that time. We got to the hotel which was fantastic - all paid for by the Sultan of Brunei. And then we played the game, got beat four or five to nil, that was our usual score, and on the way back they were six seats short on the plane to get back to Brunei. So six of us had to catch a plane to an island off the coast of Brunei and then catch a catamaran that took us through the jungle back to Brunei via the rivers and tributaries. That was an eye-opener. My first experience of an away trip and I just thought it was incredible. Very different to crossing the Pennines via the M62 on a late night!

And what was the actual football like out there?

It was the first time they'd gone full-time and we actually trained at the stadium. It was so hot and humid you could only run for 10 minutes before you were sweating and everything else. I don't want to sound naïve but the Muslim faith that I saw in Brunei - having to stop training to pray - it was