Lee trundle

The former Chorley striker was still trying to create a stage for himself with a smartly-taken hat-trick for Rhyl in a friendly match against Wrexham.

Scouse comedian Boardman was instantly impressed - and tried to broker a move to Prenton Park with a recommendation to Rovers boss John Aldridge.

Unfortunately, Boardman delivered his punchline too late as a deal with Wrexham had already been signed and sealed.

Trundle had landed a big break in the game that would ultimately led to him becoming a Swansea hero, a prolific goalscorer and arguably the most talked about footballer in the Third Division thanks to his penchant for showboating.

Hard to imagine, then, that even up to his late teens the fledgling Magpies hitman was a softly spoken young man who didn't seem to care too much for the limelight.

It was at St Dominic's Sports Hall, at the end of the street where he grew up in his birthplace, Liverpool, that a young Trundle first realised he had a passion for playing the beautiful game.

But while he was reasonably quiet and unassuming, just by putting a ball at his feet one could unearth a flamboyant character, not to mention an immensely talented footballer.

The fact that every non-league club he ever signed for paid a fee for him - however large or small - speaks volumes.

Questions were first asked when Chorley manager Dave Sutton shelled out £7,000 for the unknown 19-year-old from Burscough in 1995, elevating the youngster from the North West Counties League to the UniBond Premier Division.

But answers were conclusively provided as Trundle wasted no time in becoming a fans' favourite thanks to his silky skills and an acute eye for goal.

Such was his ability that ex-Rochdale boss Sutton even went as far as to ask why Glenn Hoddle hadn't selected the young left winger, who also posed as a striker, for the England Under 21 squad regardless of the level of football he was playing.

But, five years down the line, Trundle is now the first to admit that lack of conviction as a teenager perhaps held him back.

"I was never in a School of Excellence and I never signed YTS anywhere. Back then I would say my heart wasn't really in the game enough," he confessed.

"Football wasn't a hobby because I was on a contract, but it was a big step to move on to the professional game.

"I was at Chorley for two years and had a good time there.

"We had a good side because most of the players had league football experience. There was Mark Wright from Huddersfield, who I still speak to every now and again, Dean Emerson from Coventry, Steve Hoyle from Preston and a keeper called Chris Clarke from Blackpool. Kenny Mayers was there then too.

"In non-league there isn't really much in the way of coaching. You have sessions on Tuesday and Thursday nights but nothing like you do in the professional game.

"I wouldn't say I really learned anything playing at that level in terms of skill. You never worked on technique, but you learned how to play against better players so it was a good grounding in that respect.

"It was a good learning curve playing with people who had played in the professional game and I think that helped me. And it was a step up from playing for Burscough!"

One of Trundle's fondest memories of life at Victory Park was coming within 90 minutes of playing at Wembley.

The Magpies reached the FA Trophy semi-final after beating Gateshead when, typically, Trundle sealed a 3-1 win. But their euphoria was short-lived when they lost their two-legged semi-final with Macclesfield.

Trundle though had started to make a name for himself, with Bolton Wanderers, Wimbledon and Arsenal all staking an interest in the fancy-footed wide man.

But when the end of Sutton's reign as Chorley chief virtually signalled the end of Trundle's association with the club, he failed to move on to a much more grand arena.

Instead he was sold to Stalybridge Celtic for a small fee before his two-year contract expired.

From there he moved to Southport, then Rhyl. And it was in North Wales that Trundle's wheel of fortune spun in his favour with THOSE goals against Wrexham.

"We had a friendly match against their first team and I scored a hat-trick in 25 minutes," he recalled.

"They asked me to go training with them and I played a game for the reserves against Blackpool and scored two.

"At the end of that week they offered me a contract."

Trundle was understandably cock-a-hoop at finally being given the chance to prove himself in professional football.

"In non-league some people think you can't do it in the Football League but I've just carried on scoring since I made the step up," said Trundle, who is now naturally ambitious to see how far he can go in the game.

The 24-year-old, who moved to Swansea under former Wrexham boss Brian Flynn in July last year, following two years at the Racecourse, admitted he has been encouraged by another leading light in the Third Division who has moved close to his own old stomping ground.

"It's good that Jonathan Stead has gone to Blackburn Rovers and done it because a few people would have doubted whether he was capable of performing at that level too," said Trundle.

"Everyone who plays wants to play at the highest level possible and I don't see any reason why I couldn't.

"All it needs is for someone to take a chance on you. Brian Flynn did just that and he knows how to get the best out of me."

However Trundle, who ironically heads to Prenton Park this afternoon as the Swans take on Tranmere in the FA Cup fifth round, says his neat tricks are all his own doing.

"That's something I've always done - even at Chorley," he said.

"In fact it's something I did when we were playing football in the playground at school.

"I always had a ball at my feet."

How long before that ball becomes the world?