Essex West Ham legend Stuart Slater back on the pitch

Stuart Slater, who lives in Stanford-le-Hope and played just under 200 games for the Hammers, has returned to his role coaching up-and-coming players as part of Chelmsford College’s partnership with Billericay Town Football Club.

He feared his days on the pitch were over after years of intense training left him picking up injuries.

The 54-year-old, who is originally from Sudbury in Suffolk, says he worked through the pain and carried on coaching after suffering a hip injury but admits it was becoming “unbearable”.

Coach - Stuart works with youngsters at an Essex-based coaching programme (Image: Practice Plus Group)

“It was affecting me with my sleep, affecting me with my walking. It affected my whole mental state, my life,” he said.

“I haven’t done one-on-one coaching at all for the last six years because it was too painful and too sore.”

But after recovering from a major operation at the Practice Plus Group hospital in Ilford, Stuart is back to doing what he does best: inspiring rising football stars.

He added: “The recovery has been great. I’m six or seven months into it now and I can’t stop walking. I can go for miles and miles of walks, come back, sit around and then walk again.”

Who is Stuart Slater?

Stuart is a football coach and former professional footballer who played as a winger and forward from 1986 to 2009, notably for West Ham, Celtic, Ipswich Town, Watford, and Leicester City.

He even enjoyed a stint playing for an Australian side before his final signing at Wivenhoe Town, based near Colchester, where he was managed by former Hammer Julian Dicks, though he never appeared for the team.

He now coaches a college programme for 16- to 19-year-olds in Essex and was previously a PE teacher at Kings Langley School in Hertfordshire.