Former Burnley keeper Marlon Beresford tells us how much his life has changed since leaving Burnley and hanging up his gloves.

FROM clean sheets to spreadsheets, life has taken an improbable twist for Marlon Beresford.

By night the former Burnley goalkeeper stays connected with football through his coaching role at Rymans league side Potters Bar FC, by day he has teamed up with his lifelong friend and established accountancy lecturer Richard Clarke.

The 41-year-old stresses he hasn’t become a number cruncher overnight.

His role is purely to co-ordinate accountancy tuition for an academy that was established three years ago in Malta “I’m not an accountant or a lecturer and probably never will be, although it’s an industry I’m learning fast,” said Beresford.

“Maths was never my strong point at school, just ask my daughter. I sat down with her going through things for her mock exams and it was a bit beyond me.

“But I’m involved in delivering accountancy tuition now - the strategy and business side of the academy, which has bases in Belfast, Malta and Aberdeen and were setting up centres in Edinburgh and Dundalk too.

“It’s different and I enjoy it.

“From organising the venues to carefully choosing the lecturers along with initially helping to finance the academies as these thing’s are not cheap to do.

“The educational side of it comes from Richard along with a fantastic team in Belfast.”

On the surface, it seems a drastic change for the Lincoln-born stopper, who began his career with Sheffield Wednesday after progressing through the youth system and went on to serve 11 other clubs.

His time at Turf Moor was so good he came for seconds and thirds.

But his best spell was undoubtedly his first.

“That was my big one,” said Beresford, who signed from Wednesday in August 1992 and stayed until 1998.

Winning promotion from the old Division Two, via the 1994 play-offs, was a clear highlight.

“Coming to the club and making my debut was a good time for me too,” he continued.

“It was my first time away from Sheffield Wednesday and I knew it was make-or-break time for me.

“I’d come to a good club, it was a challenge to see if I could get established and play consistently.”

Signed by Jimmy Mullen, Beresford began his first season as understudy to David Williams, but didn’t look back after replacing the Liverpudlian in only the third league game.

He hadn’t been able to make the breakthrough at Hillsborough, but at Burnley he was an ever-present from late August 1992 to mid-March 1995.

He was sold to Middlesbrough in 1998, but only as back-up, and after loan spells with his first club Wednesday and Wolves he came back to Turf Moor for a stint under Stan Ternent in 2002, when Burnley finished outside the top six of the old Division One by just one goal.

Beresford returned for a third time the following season, after completing a short-term deal at York when his Boro contract ended, and battled with Nik Michopoulos for the gloves before moving on to Bradford, Luton, Barnsley, then back to Luton, where - after a loan spell at Oldham thrown in for good measure - he retired from playing in 2008 and launched a new career.

“When I was about to retire Richard asked me if I wanted to get involved with his academy,” he said.

“I’ve always been interested in the business side of things, and coming to the end of my football career I had to seriously think about what to do next.

“Luton were getting deducted points and had manager after manager and I was happy to step aside, I was surplus to requirements, my back was sore and I was struggling physically.

“It was a good opportunity at the right time.

“I’m a bit of a risk-taker too, so I just got out there and got on with it.”

But he hasn’t abandoned his gloves entirely.

“I’m having a renaissance after two years’ rest,” smiled Beresford, who when we spoke had recently played in a fundraiser for his old Burnley team-mate Gary Parkinson at Middlesbrough, which raked in a fantastic £50,000, and had just arrived in Derby to play alongside cast members from Eastenders, Hollyoaks and Waterloo Road in another charity match, this time for the M1 Charity football team, And through his coaching role in the Ryman League he is giving something back to the game after 21 years as a professional.

“I’ve got a good mixture at the minute,” he said.

“I’ve no plans for full-time football yet, everything suits just fine as it is for now.”