Striker Billy Sharp discusses his third spell with Doncaster Rovers ahead of the 2024-25 League Two season
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00:00Are you big on sort of records and things? I mean, there's nothing wrong with it. You've
00:08got, what is it, 249 and you're chasing a sixth sort of promotion of your career and,
00:13you know, there's some great accomplishments there you could achieve still.
00:19Yeah. One goal for 250 league, 27 for 300 career goals. I think that includes my sixth
00:29in the MLS as well, so I'd have to check on my dad with that one. But yeah, there's still
00:32plenty of personal targets to go and hit, but the big one is to get another promotion
00:36and keep adding to successful times and memories, which I'll have to look back on in a few years'
00:43time.
00:44And playing up to 40, I mean, it's something that's easily achievable. I mean, there's
00:48lads that, you know, well, like Johnny Howson, who's going year after year after year and,
00:54you know...
00:55He's not quite as old as me, though, Johnny Howson.
00:58Yeah, a couple of years off, isn't he? But you can do it when you've got this fitness
01:01and, you know, players really look after themselves, you know.
01:05Yeah. Kevin Ellison was playing at 42, 43, I think, in League Two. I don't know if he's
01:09playing now, but Jamie Curran did it to 42. You know, the big one for me is a friend,
01:16Phil Jagielka. He, you know, I twisted his arm and told him to keep going and got him
01:21to 40 and I think he ended up scoring against Sheffield United at 41. So, he's a big inspiration
01:26to keep going and I know that if I can have, you know, a successful season this season,
01:32then there's no reason why I can't do another season after that and do it until I'm 40.
01:37So, that's the aim. Obviously, you've got short-term ambitions and targets and then
01:43you've got to look for the longer ones as well to keep the hunger going.
01:46I mean, obviously, you've got your playing target still, but you're back in your mind.
01:50You said before you want to get into management at some point and I suppose you're like a
01:53sponge picking things up and this will be another year's grounding on it and that sort
01:59of thing as well. You'll be able to learn other aspects in your second career in football,
02:03you know, in a few years' time, whatever.
02:05Yeah, I'm quite open to say that I do want to give management a crack. I've learnt a
02:13lot, like I said, off Liam Rossini in the last four months, the way he handles players,
02:16the way he takes training and stuff like that. So, it'll be great to see what Cliffy does
02:23on the training pitch and obviously the manager on matchdays. Grant's been quite open with
02:30me as well about maybe in the future there's something there, coaching-wise, but I just
02:35want to concentrate on being a player and being one of the squad players to help the
02:41team get promoted this season.
02:43And I'm just going to ask you finally about Copse. I mean, you've had a great relationship
02:46over the years. I remember, were you in the service station before he scored against Brentford
02:51and you said that you thought he'd score, that sort of thing?
02:55Yeah, he stopped off obviously with Doncaster to then stay over for the Brentford game and
03:03I was on the way to somewhere else and I said to him, you know what, I think you'll get
03:10the winner tomorrow. Not quite like how he did it, but I thought it was going to be a
03:15free kick or maybe one from outside the box. But, yeah, that's a magic moment in football
03:23for Doncaster, for Copse and to be able to have a touch with a walker in the net must
03:30have been an unbelievable feeling. He was already a club legend, but that just really
03:36made him even bigger.
03:45Yeah.
03:46Yeah.
03:47Yeah.
03:48Yeah.