DRUG TESTERS TAKE THE P!

WE had the pleasure of a visit from the FA drug testers this week.

They can turn up at a game, at the training ground or even at your home - although I've never heard of them knocking on anyone's front door.

By far the worst time to have it is after a game, because you have to stay at the ground till you produce a good enough sample. This can often mean the

LOTS OF BOTTLE - but while most of the Blackpool team are celebrating victory with champagne Ben Burgess is waiting for the drug testers

whole team waiting for you on the coach for hours.

I had a particular grievance with the testers in our promotion season a couple of years ago.

I'd gone five years of my career without being tested but, bearing in mind that these are allegedly random tests, I was tested after both play-off semi-final games AND the Wembley final.

Random

As my team-mates were celebrating on the pitch after this once-in-a-lifetime victory, I was being followed around by a little man with a plastic bottle. If you can't pass water after a while then you can go and get a shower¿ but the FA tester has to stand next to you in the shower to make sure there is no 'foul play'.

The lads didn't give me that much stick¿honest.

Mind you, the final straw came in the opening game of the next season when I was amazingly chosen at random for the fourth time in a row. I threatened to put in an official complaint because I felt I was being targeted - and I couldn't really understand why because I'm not exactly known for my sprinting!

Although this drug testing policy can be tedious, it's well worth it if it catches a drug cheat or even if it makes someone think twice about taking any.

After the visit from John Burridge a few weeks ago we were graced with the presence of another Seasiders legend, Jimmy Armfield on Tuesday.

It's not everyday you get to chat to a World Cup winner and not only could he tell me how to be a better player but he also gave me some advice on how to be a journalist after all his time working on newspapers and his stint on Radio 5 live.

On Thursday at University we had an exam on football culture. As we were all stood outside the room waiting to go in, we admitted that we were more nervous about the test than we would be playing in front of 20,000 people¿and we had every reason to be, it was hard!

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