Manager Phil Babb admits Hayes & Yeading’s fixture pile-up could force him to pull on his boots again.
The former Republic of Ireland international called it a day in the professional ranks a decade ago after his contract expired at Sunderland in 2004.
But with a gruelling schedule of 18 games to fit in over the next two months and a lack of defensive cover, the 43-year-old could a make a shock comeback.
“I’ve been training and I’m registered to play,” the ex-Liverpool centre-back said. “With the amount of games we’ve got in April, every registered player at the club may have to feature – myself included. Del [Preddie, goalkeeping coach] is registered and even Tristan [Lewis, assistant boss] is registered. It’s not uncommon for coaching staff to be registered, simply because of the nature of non-league football with its smaller squads.
“You see the likes of Jamie Day at Welling. He’s a lot younger than us, but he has had to do it.
“I think all I could do is add experience, know-how, and a different voice on the pitch. I’m sure if the lads are on their game their legs will get me through.
“I would hate to be in a position where I would have to play though.”
Hayes & Yeading, who are being sucked into a relegation battle in the Conference South, have nine games in 26 days in April and Babb says even a Premier League club would struggle to cope with such a schedule.
“There’s not a squad on the planet that can prepare for that,” he added. “There’s not a player on the planet that can cope with that workload, regardless of which league you’re playing in. It is what it is though. The games will come thick and fast.
“It’s all about how the boys look after themselves on their rest days. There won’t be room for more training because we will be playing more games. We’ve worked hard on the training pitch to instil the philosophy and it’s up to the players to do it on the pitch.
“The postponements have been happening now since January.
“There’s not much you can do about it and you’ve just got to keep the boys ticking over. It’s not in our hands, so we just have to keep preparing for every game.”
Babb racked up more than 400 appearances as a player, representing Bradford City and Coventry City before joining Liverpool in 1994 for £3.6m, a fee that made him Britain’s most expensive defender at the time.
Hayes & Yeading, who had no scheduled game on Saturday, were due to entertain Farnborough last night (Tuesday).
Meanwhile, work has restarted on United’s new stadium at Beaconsfield Road as the club, currently groundsharing with Conference Premier side Woking, steps up its attempt to return home.
