A decade ago, in a canteen at a gym in Leeds, Andy Morrell tucked into a turkey, bacon, lettuce and tomato butty during a work break and got chatting to a bloke he knew from the telly.

The fella in question, Rob McCaffrey, an ITV and Sky presenter, happened to be writing a book about former Liverpool legend Joey Jones.

Morrell, then working full-time but travelling to Newcastle at the weekend to play for a local team, told McCaffrey about his dream to be a footballer.

But at 22, conceded Morrell, the chance had probably passed him by.

"Rob, who was a member at the gym, asked if I'd ever wanted to play pro. I said I'd never had the chance. So he told me to write down who I played for and how many goals I'd scored. I did," recalls Morrell.

"Because he was writing the autobiography of Joey Jones, who was Wrexham's reserve team manager, he said he'd speak to him.

"Rob rang me back two days later and told me I had to ring Brian Flynn, the Wrexham manager, who wanted me to go down for a week's training.

What do you think was Morrell's finest moment in a Pool shirt? Leave your comments below.

"I took a week off work, arrived on the Monday morning and Brian told me that if I was no good he'd tell me in the afternoon because, as he put it, we don't want to waste each other's time."

Flynn said nothing in the afternoon but it wasn't an immediate success story for Morrell. Perseverance was the key.

While continuing to work in Leeds, he drove to North Wales every week to play for Wrexham's second string.

Eventually he got the OK from work to go for a month's trial. "On the second day I broke my cheekbone – what a terrific start," says Morrell.

The odds seemed stacked against him and he went back to work.

Six weeks later and fully healed, he went back to Wrexham for another month.

"At the end of it Flynn said I could carry on playing for the reserves if I wanted," added Morrell.

"I asked to stay for another month. He said fine but what about your job. I said I'd quit because I'd rather give it a go here.

"Two weeks into that month he gave me a six-month contract and looking back I think he just wanted to know that I was serious about it. He didn't want to tell me to quit my job, he was waiting for me to do it."

For someone breaking into football so late, Morrell didn't waste any time making his mark.

He had the good fortune of finding himself paired with Lee Trundle at the Racecourse Ground.

And despite Trundle's magic, it was Morrell who stole plenty of the headlines when they played together.

Goals seemed to come easy for the livewire striker, a player who thrilled the fans with a never-say-die attitude.

Brett Ormerod, a former factory worker from Accrington, had it too.

Perhaps it's something to do with having to work for a living and making it in football late. Those players often appreciate what they've got so much more and work harder at their game.

In one golden season at Wrexham, Morrell scored 34 league goals, 39 in all competitions, and the club was promoted.

It was no surprise when Coventry came sniffing.

For Morrell it was a dream move. His parents lived in the area and it was a chance to test himself at a higher level.

Within four years of working full-time, he was suddenly plying his trade one division outside of the Premier League.

To say it was a dream come true doesn't quite cover it.

"I remember at Wrexham sitting on my bed in digs, ringing my missus and my mum and dad and saying 'they've offered me a six-month contract. I'm a professional footballer!' And four years down the line I'm playing in front of 23,000 at Coventry. Incredible!" says Morrell.

"I remember in pre-season training we were doing keep ball and there was myself, Richard Hall, Steve Staunton, Gary McAllister, Ravanelli ... it was like 'what am I doing here?' I had to stop myself thinking 'I'm out of here, I'm in the wrong place!'

"It was just fantastic and I've made some great friends as I've gone along.

"You see people on the telly and think 'wow' but they are just good lads when you get to know them."

After Coventry came Blackpool.

And as Morrell relaxes in a chair at the hotel we're chatting in, his face lights up when you ask him about that first magnificent, dream-like season at Bloomfield Road.

Amazing

To jog your memory, Morrell arrived on a free transfer from Coventry in the first month of the 2006-07 campaign eager to play games.

Pool won one of their first 11 matches and the new arrival found himself dropped to the bench.

By the end he was making history, a regular in a side which smashed the Seasiders best-ever consecutive victories record and won promotion at Wembley.

Even now Morrell struggles to explain how it happened.

"It was definitely a one-off," is the best he can come up with. "The gaffer just had that Midas touch, especially with the people he brought in.

"The players that came in on loan, everybody just turned out right. He brought in Robbie Williams a left back and he scored seven goals in 10 games. That doesn't happen.

"He brings in Joe Hart because we needed a keeper. He turns out to be an England keeper a year down the line. Do you know what I mean? Amazing.

"And Joe Hart was brilliant. He was amazing in the games that he played.

"Things just fell into place and it was an incredible, incredible time."

What prompted Morrell to come to Blackpool though? With all due respect to the Seasiders, that's quite a drop from the Ricoh Arena – or at least it was at the time.

"It wasn't as if I was keen to get away from Coventry. I had a contract for a year and had worked really hard in the summer of 2006 aiming to give it a go. But I wasn't involved for the first three games and that made up my mind," said Morrell.

"I had a few clubs come in for me but Blackpool were the keenest. I felt the ambition of the club was right and the gaffer sold it to me really well.

"Mind you all clubs and managers say exactly the same when they're trying to sign you.

"As a player you just have to go with your gut feeling, how you get on with the people that you speak to.

"I had a good feeling. It just felt right and I thought 'let's do it and see what happens'. With hindsight, it wasn't a bad decision really."

Not initially though. Pool were in the relegation zone until the end of September and Morrell got axed.

"There was a stage when I thought what have I done?" he admits.

"Considering the manager was telling me that he wanted at least a top ten finish ... to see them bottom wasn't good.

"I had a bit of a nightmare start myself. I had three really good chances on my debut and missed them all.

"Then I had five or six games in the team, didn't score, and you are brought in as a striker to do that. There was a bit of pressure and I was thinking 'can I do this?'

Read part two in Saturday's Gazette as Andy talks about good times and an unhappy ending