Ordinary People Given A Great Chance - Uddin

Anwar Uddin, who spent time on loan at Hereford United and is now captain of Dagenham and Redbridge, has been telling the Times of his appreciation of being given a chance in football and how it fits in with his beliefs.

Uddin has Bangladeshi roots and is the League's first Asian/English captain. He recently met Prince Charles.

“Whether I like it or not, I’m an ambassador for the Asian community. Racially, this country has changed so much for the better in the past five years and football is at the forefront of it. I’m the captain of a great club and I’m in the spotlight, so it’s up to me to be shown in a good light and counter the minority who have stereotypical or racist or biased views. It was beautiful to see Charles recognising the Asian contribution to British society.

“I’m back home in the Football League and I’m not going anywhere. I love it and it makes me feel alive. When the chips are down, you’ve got to stand up: if one of my teammates scores an own goal, I score an own goal; if they make a mistake I make a mistake. We’re all level-headed, we’ve all got our feet on the ground because we’re not on great money, we haven’t got flashy cars and beautiful houses. We’re just ordinary people given a great chance and we’re going to make the most of it. Whatever gets thrown at us, we’ll deal with it.”

Next Saturday Uddin takes his side to Southend for a Third Round FA Cup-tie.

“For us, Southend are the next best thing to a Premier League side, but for them it’s the worst draw imaginable. The bookies will have them as favourites, but on our day we can turn massive teams over.”

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