In the first of a new ‘where are they now’ series, we track down former Burnley star Geoff Nulty and discovers that the ex-Claret is a busy man – but still retains a love for all things Turf Moor...

EX-Claret Geoff Nulty ponders the pitfalls of life after a career in professional football, and feels glad he emerged unscathed.

There have been no shortage of tales of footballers struggling to replace the adrenaline rush of a Saturday afternoon after retirement, but Nulty is perhaps busier than he has ever been.

The former Burnley star was a key player in the Clarets’ rise from the Second Division to sixth place in the top flight in the early 1970s, but later saw his career come to an abrupt halt.

Playing for Everton, he was on the end of a controversial tackle from Jimmy Case in a Merseyside derby and the ligament damage could not be repaired.

But, after a brief spell in coaching with Preston, Nulty quickly reapplied his skills to the business world and is grateful to have found another career that he can enjoy rather than merely endure.

“I’ve been working as a sub-postmaster for the last 15 years and as well as that I’ve got commercial property, private property, a beauty salon and a building company with my brother,” said Nulty, now 62.

“I grew up in Prescot, a couple of miles from St Helens, and all my businesses are around that area.

“It keeps me busy but I feel really lucky that all my life I have been able to do things that I have enjoyed.

“In the days when I played there were players who struggled finan-cially after they retired and you felt sorry for them.

“Players now have a different problem. They don't have to work again but it is finding a framework for your life.

“They live in £2m houses next door to stockbrokers and barristers and they've got nothing in common.

“They can’t down to the gym because they will attract a lot of attention and get bothered, so a lot of them have personal gyms and never get out of the house.

“You or I can go on holiday to do something a bit different, but a lot of footballers spend most of the week playing golf anyway so I'm not sure I'd want to do that.

“But I always felt confident that if I went into business I would do okay and fortunately that was how it worked out.

“As a player I always had determination. I remember playing against West Ham and Trevor Brooking in 1971, and throughout the 90 minutes I was convincing myself that I was better than him, thinking, ‘I can run longer than him and head the ball better than him’.

“In the end I scored, he didn’t and I played better than him.

“I always had that determination and drive, and I've used those same things in business.”

Nulty, who also did a degree in social sciences with the Open University after his retirement, also played for Newcastle after leaving Burnley in 1974 but retains huge affection for the club where he made his breakthrough as a professional after joining as a youngster from Stoke.

“Even when I went on to Newcastle and Everton the coaching wasn’t as good as it was at Burnley, which was why they brought on so many good young players through,” he said.

“And when I joined Burnley a lot of the players were Geordies. In the north east in those days it was true to say that pretty much everyone was at most only one family removed from someone who had been down the pits.

“It was that miner mentality. Everyone worked for each other and that was why we were successful.”

Initially a striker, Nulty got his first extended run in the Burnley side in defence and midfield during their relegation from the First Division during the 1970/71 campaign.

He featured little the season afterwards but Dave Thomas’ departure to QPR saw him back in the side and he scored six goals as the Clarets were promoted back to the top flight in 1972/73, adding nine more as they climbed to sixth in the First Division a year later.

An FA Cup semi final appearance against Newcastle, the club he would join months later for £130,000, saw him hit the crossbar before Malcolm Macdonald’s double gave the Magpies a 2-0 victory.

His fondest memory, though, was perhaps his first league start for the club at home to Manchester United in 1969.

“It was in front of 38,000, George Best scored and then I equalised,” he said.

“I remember before kick-off, I was the centre forward and was getting ready to kick off. I was just so pleased I was going to be able to say I had started a First Division match.

“Bobby Charlton knew Jimmy Adamson because they were both from Ashington, and as we were waiting for the referee Bobby Charlton leant over to me in the centre circle and just said, ‘All the best’.

“He must have known it was my debut, and this was a man I respected so much because he had won the FA Cup, the World Cup and the European Cup.

“I remember little things like that. It meant a lot to me.

“The other highlight was the week before the FA Cup semi final when we went to Elland Road and won 4-1 against the Leeds side who won the title that year.

“I scored and Paul Fletcher scored the goal of the season or the goal of the week with a scissor kick from my back header.

“He always jokes that he did well to make my bad header into something!

“I'm still in touch with Fletch and a few of the others I played with, and I get back to Turf Moor for quite a few games.

“It’s a fantastic club. The best club in the country, without a doubt.”