CHRIS Pearce knows what it is like to need help from the PFA after giving up the game.

Three times the former Rovers and Clarets goalkeeper has been forced to seek help from the players' union and on each occasion he has been helped.

Now he is backing PFA chief Gordon Taylor in his call for strike action to force Premier League bosses to give more money to help ex-players like him.

"Two years ago I needed an operation because the doctors thought I had thyroid cancer," said the 40-year-old. "I was with the consultant and was told that unless I went private I would have to wait four months for the op.

"It was near Christmas and a terrible time for the family but I just made one phone call to Gordon and Brendan Batson and they told me not to worry.

"They sorted everything out with the consultant there and then on the phone. Luckily it was not cancerous but I could not have coped without their help."

Pearce claims that he is just one of 1,000s of ex-players who have been able to call on the PFA for help after hanging up their boots.

"When I was at Burnley I got a bad fracture to my cheekbone," he said. "The club looked after me then but after I retired I had a problem with the a bone in the back of my eye. Again it was the PFA that helped me out."

Pearce was at Ewood Park for three years and Turf Moor for five before a back injury forced him to retire at the age of 32 when he was across the Pennines at Bradford City.

"I still had back problems after retiring and the PFA helped me out by sending me down to Lilleshall to get rehab treatment. That meant I missed less time at work which was important.

"This strike would not be about the Beckhams and the Giggs in the game, this is for the less fortunate players. The PFA is there to help players playing now but also those who have finished in the game. I have been fortunate to get work but not all do and if you are having problems with your mortgage the PFA will help.

"I am 100 per cent behind the players and if they go out on striker I will be there with them, I feel so strongly about this."

Clarets skipper Steve Davis highlighted the plight of players like Pearce as he explained he is backing the Professional Footballers' Association in its battle with the Premier League.

Davis is PFA rep at Turf Moor and he said: "This is not about players at the top of the game. A percentage of players never have to work again after playing but this is about looking after the vast majority who have to cope with life after football.

"As players we all know we are only ever one bad tackle away from having our careers ended and it is the PFA that helps to look after you then.

"The players are now talking about the matter and the ballot papers are being sent to the club.

"We know about the help that Chris Pearce has had and the public does not hear those stories.

"The PFA stands by footballers past and present, sending them on courses and helping re-train them."

Rovers boss Graeme Souness was quick to praise the work of the PFA.

He said: "I don't know the ins and outs of it but I do know the PFA has grown in strength under Gordon Taylor.

"He has done a great job and now I just hope that there will be commonsense on both sides."

As a member of the Premier League, Rovers are monitoring developments in the row between players and the clubs and chief executive John Williams said: "We are receiving briefing notes.

"Our main contention is that this is not a trade dispute with the clubs about the players terms and conditions," he said. "We would hope that strike action can be avoided."