The Saturday Interview - this week: JIMMY KHAN

THE hairs sprang up on the back of Jimmy Khan's neck.

Three o'clock on December 12, 1988, heralded one of the proudest moments of the 25-year-old's life as the first notes of the Pakistan national anthem rang around Rawalpindi's Jinnah Stadium. But when the television camera panned across his face, he was racked with an embarrassing discomfort.

Khan had been picked to represent his nation in a World Cup qualifier for Italia 90 against the United Arab Emirates.

His nerves weren't anything to do with his ability on the pitch. That was never in question. But singing the national anthem was a very different story.

"I didn't know the words," said the Darwen-born footballer, now 41.

"The rest of the team were lined up with their hands across their chest, all belting it out.

"But when the camera was pointing at me, I just had to try to mime. And in Urdu, that's not easy."

The game itself didn't go too smoothly either. Pakistan were beaten 4-1, but defeat failed to quash Khan's high spirits as he made his international debut, on the right side of midfield, on his father's birthday.

"There were about 35-40,000 in the stadium, which was similar to the Millennium Stadium, and all my family were watching at home on the television," beamed Khan.

"But I'm not a big fan of heat and it was one of those days where you could fry an egg on the pavement. It was scorching."

Jimmy Khan was a name etched in the memories of football officials in Pakistan after he had played against an army team on a visit to Rawalpindi three years earlier.

When his father, Joe, and brother, Denny, returned to the area on a family visit ahead of the qualifiers, Jimmy was summoned.

"I was working for the Blackburn Rovers community programme and my dad called to say I'd been invited to have trials for the national team," he said.

"The training camp was tough because I don't eat spicy food. So while the rest of the team were tucking into curries, I was eating boiled chicken with peas and boiled potatos every day."

But Pakistan knew what they were getting when they called on the services of the former St John's Primary School pupil for the UAE tie.

He had a good pedigree, having progressed from being by far the youngest player for local side Corinthians, to the youth team at Blackburn Rovers - the year above players like Simon Barker and Mark Patterson, when Howard Kendall was the manager.

"The first time I met Howard, he just had a towel wrapped round him, so that was quite daunting," he laughed.

Khan had turned down offers from teams including Southampton and Manchester United to join Rovers, and it was expected by his team-mates and those who watched him that he would go on to sign terms at Ewood Park.

However, living nearby proved to be a disadvantage and he was only offered a non-contract deal, freeing up money for the club to entice young imports over from Ireland.

That came as a major blow for the avid Blackburn supporter, but he was still attracting plenty of interest from other clubs and, straight after scoring a self-confessed "spectacular goal" in his trial, he joined Bury, where he stayed for two years.

A two-year stint in Finland followed thanks to links with Darwen's Star Paper Mill, where his father worked. He played for a team near the town of Kuopio, in the Finnish Second Division and lived the life of his hero Kevin Keegan.

"I certainly got a taste of what it would be like to be a top flight footballer over here," he said.

"I didn't pay for anything. Meals, clothes - it was all free. It was surreal. They treated me like a superstar."

And they never forgot him.

Two years ago, 18 years after returning to Darwen, Jimmy was invited back for a match organised in his honour and, in return, he ran a few soccer schools, something which is now second nature to him as an A-licence coach and sport development manager for Preston City Council.

But while he followed his dreams, he failed to break a mould.

Khan admitted that, although he was aware of being the only Asian youngster playing football, it wasn't something he would pay attention to.

"I did get called names, but I usually put it down to the fact that I was going past them," he said.

"Besides, I loved playing football and nothing was going to stop that. It just strengthened my resolve to try to redress the balance."

And Khan is still working towards that today as a would-be ambassador for the FA for Asians in football.

Promotion for Padiham is also high on the list of the player-coach's priorities after a 23-year association with Darwen Football Club, during which he played in every position - even in goal.

"It was gut-wrenching to leave because I'd made my debut for them when I was 17, but there's a good team spirit at Padiham, it's well run and everything's in place for us to do well," he said.

"I'm just frustrated that the manager, Steve Wilkes, has decided for me that I'm no longer playing! But I've got plenty of happy memories."