Jamie Grimes spoke to 1866 Sport in an interview which was heard on the Breakfast Show, hosted by James Summers.
The following is a summary of the interview, with Jamie letting us know what he has been doing since the end of the season and talking about his new look, which is helping the Little Princess Trust…
What have you been up to over the summer?
I had a bit of a rest and then been away on holiday and enjoyed a nice break from football. Had a break from social media, had a break from football. When I come back, mentally refreshed, I think that’s just as important as being physically refreshed. I went to Corfu for 11 days. Did a bit of exploring out there, saw some nice blue sea and a bit of sunshine.
You’re now in your fifth year at the club, the second longest-serving player behind Liam Mandeville…
Yes, I’m still excited to be here. I love the club and it’s the happiest I’ve been as a footballer. I just want to keep getting better every year and progressing and get this club as high up the league as I can while I’m here, so it’s a pleasure to be here.
How do you reflect on last season?
It was a frustrating season, with injuries, and we just didn’t really hit the form that we really needed to be successful.
I think that our last push towards the end of season was excellent, got us in the play-offs, but we just sort of dwindled out, didn’t we? So it was a bit frustrating, but I know the gaffer, I know the lads that are here will be really pushing to put things right and this pre-season is massive for us to get through, everyone fit, start the season on fire.
This club demands, the fans demand that we’re winning every week and that’s the pressure you want to play in as a player. So when you’re not winning the league or you’re not reaching play-off finals, it feels like a failure. But, looking back at it, first season back in the league and we’ve managed to get in the play-offs, I think it puts us in good stead to kick on this year.
Some new faces joining you for the start of pre-season training as well…
Yes. We’ve got a few lads in on trial as well, so we’ve got good numbers for training. I’ve had a bit of a chat with a few of them. They seem like good lads and we’ll see how mentally tough they are on this running later!
How much are you looking forward to the pre-season games?
The games are what you look forward to and you enjoy the games. Then by the end of the last couple of friendlies, you’re like, ‘I just want a competitive game’ because the competitive games are different to pre-season games.
The pre-season games are friendly. It’s nice, you get your patterns, your tactics, but there comes that time where you just miss that battle or that fight, and that’s what I look forward to at the end of pre-season.
You’re also going to Spain as part of the build-up to the new campaign…
Yeah, it’s a bit different this year. The last couple of years we’ve gone this week, first week back, but now we’re going to go there and play a game, it’s exciting.
It’s very much a new-look Jamie Grimes. For those who follow the club’s social media accounts, they’ll have seem that you’ve had your long hair chopped off…
Yes, it’s been coming a while. I am sorry to lose it because I was a bit attached to it. I’ve had it a long time. It grew during lockdown and it just stuck with me but I felt it was time for a change. I was looking to donate it for charity. About Christmas last year I was looking at it, but every time I went to the hairdressers, it wasn’t long enough.
It needed to be over 12 inches long, but people pulling on it, heading footballs, it kept breaking off at the ends and it wasn’t in good condition. So I had six month to 12 months of really looking after it.
I went to see the hairdresser in the summer and it was 15 inches so it was enough to donate to make for wigs for children with cancer treatment or suffering from bad alopecia. So I think the time was right to do it and I’m glad that it can be put to good use.
What was the inspiration for that? How did you find out about the charity?
I’ve seen a few things advertised and I thought, I’ve got this long hair and I was looking for something, I can’t just put it in the bin.
And the hairdresser mentioned it to me as well, saying ‘Why don’t you look at donating to charity?’ I found the Little Princess Trust and I thought it was a great cause. If my hair can be used to give a child who’s struggling with hair-loss due to cancer treatment just a bit of normality, and maybe make a little bit of change, that’s what it’s about and that’s why I decided to do it.
I got the haircut on Friday and then I thought, ‘Right, I’m going to come in and surprise the lads with the haircut.’ I donated it and I posted it to my friends and family to donate because when you donate your hair they ask for a little bit of a donation for the creation of the wig to fund it, then anything over goes to child research and cancer.
What have you made of the reaction since you posted about your charity donation on social media?
I’ve been blown away by the support I’ve had. It’s incredible. Again, I’m proud to support this club and I always feel the love with things like this and they really support you. It’s a special club so I’m glad to be a part of it.
I can only thank everyone who’s donated so generously. Thank you so much and hopefully it’s going to a good cause.
What was the reaction from the lads when they saw you for the first time with your new look?
I’ve had mixed reactions, to be honest. Some people say I look three years younger. Some people say I look older. So I think it was a love or hate it.
I loved it for a spell and I will miss it but I feel fresh, I feel lighter. It’s nice just to be able to get your head under the shower after training and not worry about drying your hair.
I’m going to keep it this length for now, definitely through pre-season when it’s warm and then we’ll see.
We’ll see how I feel because it is a bit of an effort to grow it because you have to go through the spell when it’s a bit messy but we’ll see. I’m keeping my options open at the moment.
To support Jamie’s fundraising efforts on behalf of Little Princess Trust, please click on the following link: https://www.justgiving.com/page/jamie-grimes-1?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL&utm_campaign=019
