I regularly phone Steve Clarke to fax over my articles for RCF.co.uk. Last night I asked for a couple of minutes to try and get a further insight into the enigma that is Steve Clarke. Enjoy...

What is your role at Racing Club?

It’s a triple pronged role Ollie. I’m a player first and foremost, that’s my bread and butter, and I’m just one of the lads. But when those shinpads come off, I’m working behind the scenes in a different corner arranging matches, sorting out the pitches, and finding referees.

So you’re the club secretary?

Uhh...yes, and no. Technically, I guess the role I perform could be defined as that of a secretary. But I don’t feel………Anyway, my third role for the club, as you know is working with you Oliver in bringing Racing Club into the 21ist century with the World Wide Web. It’s a hectic lifestyle, and sometimes I’m praying for time, but it’s rewarding all the same.

What sort of relationship do you have with manager Bradley Micallef?

It’s a good relationship; he’s kind of like a father figure to me. I think if you want to be in the starting eleven, you have to be in with the right people. To be honest, I’ve known Brad a long long time, and I think that really bolsters my shout for a starting place. In the past year or so, I think it’s fair to say we have drifted apart. But since we had the idea for this team, and I knew Brad would be picking the team, I thought it was probably best to try and speak to him more, see him more, and bring him gifts.

You once had a reputation as a Wild boy, always out partying, drinking and smoking drugs. What’s changed?

You can’t go on at the pace I was Ollie, and not slow down. The body isn’t designed for what I was doing night after night. You’re right, I was out every week drinking and smoking. And most nights I’d find myself kissing a fool, and looking for some fastlove, but it wasn’t fulfilling. I’ve found myself a lovely lady, who’s tamed the beast, and while I still know how to party and cut a rug with the best of them, it’s fair to say I’ve calmed down.

During your younger days, you were involved with, what some might say ‘the wrong crowd’ – You were heavily into underground gangsta rap, loitering in local shopping centres and generally causing the public multiple grievances. Was their any significant event you can attribute to you moving away from that particular social arena?

I do have a wild past, and it’s well documented. During my younger days, I’ll admit, I was a fortified hooligan. But unless you grew up in the area I grew up in, and went to the schools I went to, then I don’t think you can comment. I had it hard as a youngster, and when you grow up in the hood, every day you are spinning the wheel and you don’t know what it’s going to land on, and what life is going to hand you.

There is one specific moment that made me see the light. I was 16 or 17 years old, and I was with my crew, about to pull a heist in Ilford town centre. I remember I had a sick feeling in my stomach as we cruised down there in the 296 bus. 5 of us made our way to the scene of the crime, Our Price, and got the job underway….I was the distraction man. The job went smoothly and we made our way out of the shop with the goods, a 5-pack of TDK high-definition cassette tapes. But as we neared the exit we were nabbed by security. 3 of us run….while two of the crew were caught, and subsequently banned from the Exchange Centre for the next three months. That was hard.

You sought help from various people to combat alcoholism – most notably Paul Merson and Tony Adams. How did they help you pull through your drinking hell?

I went to Tony Adams sporting clinic for 3 months. It was a Godsend. The way Tony preached to me, it was like Jesus to a child. He’s been through what I’ve been through, and although the place was no Club Tropicana, it was a great experience for me, because you come out of that place knowing that you have been loved.

After your alcohol rehabilitation program, you decided to shave you head - Was this symbolic?

No that was purely from the chemo, but that's another story for another day Ollie. 

Did you ever consider turning to god?

I don’t believe you ever have to turn to God, because he’s always right there in front of you. Oliver, I believe you’ve got to have faith. God is the one person in the world that can truly heal the pain. As a wise man once said "Be a winner, not a sinner".

What do you say to all those kids that held you in such high regard – then see you being taken in an ambulance to the London Hospital after a mass drugs overdose?

I think those kids hold me in an even higher regard now. I've shown tremendous tenacity and bouncebackability to recover from that night. Looking back, doing shots of Sambuca and Calpol probably wasn't the smartest thing in the world to do, but you don't know unless you try.

If I think something is a good idea, then I'm going to do it and if there's consequences further down the road it's ok, because I know a) I'm strong enough mentally to deal with it, and b) Most 8 year old girls will never testify and the charges will be dropped.

Football wise, you’ve been in the wilderness for a few years. Spells with SFC Dagenham and Chase Cross Casuals failed to propel you to the dizzy heights you once promised as a youngster. Manager Bradley Micallef has taken somewhat of a gamble on you – how do you intend to repay his faith in you?

Brad has taken a gamble on me, but I think it’s one that he will be happy with on the pitch, and financially. If I’m honest, I’ve taken a gamble by coming to Racing Club Fantana. In May I was offered a deal at SFC Dagenham to join them for another season, which I considered strongly. I enjoyed my time there, and they’re a great bunch of lads. I believe that their manager Derek Helmet gets the best out of everyone around him, and don’t think it’ll be long before we see him moving on to bigger and better things.

The main reason I didn’t join SFC was because of the managers. Derek was a man of principles, and honour. A real mans man. On the other hand, I felt Brad wouldn’t object to taking the odd Alba DVD player off my hands in return for a place in the starting eleven, and so far I’ve been proven right.

I’ve known Brad a long time, and we’ve seen the best and worst of each other. The worst of me is out in the open, and I can freely speak about it. Brad on the other hand has a lot of dark secrets and demons that I know about, that aren’t in the public domain, and I think it’s safe to say he’d like to keep it that way. So as long as he remembers that when writing names on the team sheet, I think everyone will be happy.

Who, out of the current playing staff would you say could surprise a few people this season?

I think there's a lot of people in our squad that are capable of taking their game to the next level. I look around our squad and I see a lot of hungry faces, I've not seen this sort of desire in any team I've been to before. We're good mates, and we'll fight for each other on the pitch...except for Maskell who will stretch and pretend not to see the fight.

We've got about 5 or 6 people who I think can really step their game up and produce the goods. I'd like to include myself in that list, because I want to succeed more than ever, and think what we have at this club is special and there are no boundaries to our potential achievements.

You’re obviously not going to walk into the team judging by the competition. Who is the major threat to your right midfield berth?

I don’t think I could single out just one threat to my position. We have players such as The Prati’s, Stimo, Sacky, The Big Fish and many more who can play in any position on the pitch. I know there’s almost a dozen threats to my position out there. But I can’t let it worry me. I just have to have belief in myself, and confidence in the gifts that I buy the manager.

How do you think Racing will fare this season?

I don’t mean to sound over confident or cocky, but I really cannot see us finishing anywhere but top of league. I don’t want to put the kiss of death on this team, so I’ll choose my words carefully, but I don’t even think God has the power to stop us finishing 1^st. I challenge him to try.

Finally I’d like to end the interview with the word association game;

Opium Den –Very nice bloke, very misleading nickname.

Paedophiles – The football youth scouts of the sexual world. They get a raw deal.

Arsenal – A poor mans RCF

God – Is a DJ, apparently.

Family – My Racing Club brothers

Friends – Better than The Office

Precipitation – Sweat

Blondes – Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan, Roger Moore.

Marcus McCleggan – My brother

Racing Club – Til I die

Gaffer – Brown envelope