I played for Nottingham Forest and now I’m a firefighter, my squad had to Google me

From putting out fires on the pitch to real fires, former defensive midfielder Sammy Clingan has made a drastic change in his life.

Clingan had only known football after moving from Belfast to England as a 16-year-old, joining Wolves' academy before moving to Nottingham Forest in 2006.

There the defensive midfielder played for two years, who were in League One at the time, as he made 96 appearances.

Further clubs Clingan went on to ply his trade include Kilmarnock in Scotland, Coventry and Doncaster, as well as moving back to Northern Ireland to play for Linfield.

After retiring in 2020, the former Nothern Ireland international admitted he felt a little lost before deciding to fulfil his lifelong dream of becoming a firefighter, moving to Glasgow to do so.

Speaking to Charlie Baker and Paul Hawksbee on talkSPORT, Clingan revealed all on the dramatic change in his life.

He said: "Obviously, moving into a new job is totally new to me but it was something that interested me after football.

"I sat down with my wife and said 'what should I do?' I was doing a bit of coaching when I was back home living in Belfast.

"I moved over here because when I played here I had my wife and we always said we would move back to Glasgow, get married and have kids and that.

"So that's what we've done as I was sat at home for a couple of years not knowing what to do so I decided to put an application in for the fire service."

While becoming a firefighter involves plenty of courage and bravery as well as being as fit as possible, for Clingan, it was a chance to replicate the camaraderie he had in the dressing room as a player.

The 39-year-old added: "That was one of the major factors, to still be involved in a team. I didn't know what to do, it was a case of do I stay in football because football is all I've known my whole life.

"I moved to England when I was 16 from Belfast when I finished school and time creeps up and the older you get, the years seem to go faster and I was coming to the end of my career.

"I was like, 'what am I going to do?' So to stay involved in a team, I am thankful to get into the fire service because I know it is quite a difficult job to get into.

"I was really pleased when I got in through the door, the application was in for two years so it was a long process.

"Obviously, there are fitness elements to it but it was really enjoyable. It was a 12-week course here in Glasgow with the national training centre.

"Got to meet a fantastic group of guys in my squad and once I finished the 12 weeks you go to your station and it isn't too far from where I stay and the team there are great also so it helps me and I've got my first year assessment on February 5."

While Clingan might have been a professional footballer, not everyone recognised who he was straight away.

It even took some Googling among his new team to find out about his previous life.

Clingan added: "A couple of the guys knew I played football and once I got to the station, they asked me what teams did I play for and a couple said they Googled me before I came.

"They have been brilliant with me, the gaffer, the rest of the firefighters, they are all there to help me. There is a trainee also on the course so it has been good getting feedback off him."