I was earning £10,000 a week at Newcastle before I went to jail – I’d still be in the Premier League now if I’d behaved
NILE RANGER has been in prison twice and gone from a £10,000-a-week Premier League star to non-league – but insists he still “could play in any team”.
And the 33-year-old is adamant he still has “one big move left in me” as he aims to use the FA Cup to fire himself back into the limelight.
The former Newcastle United striker played under both Kevin Keegan and Chris Hughton during his time at St. James’ Park as well as England’s youth sides.
These days he is banging them in for Kettering Town and hoping to add to his impressive tally of five goals in five appearances when they travel to Farsley Celtic on Saturday to battle for a place in the FA Cup first round proper.
Ranger signed a five-year contract worth £10,000-a-week with Newcastle but both Keegan and Chris Hughton could not get him away from his off-field issues.
He had already served time for his role in an armed robbery as a teenager, and he revealed how extreme the latter manager’s warnings were.
Discussing Hughton, Ranger explained: “He said: ‘Listen, if you’re late again I’ll make you pull out your gold tooth and sell it’. He still named me on the bench. It was a different world.
“I’d not been long out of the young offenders’ institute – now I was getting changed next to Michael Owen. People would cut their leg off for the opportunity I had.
“I would bring all my friends up to Newcastle [from London] for parties.
“I had more money than sense. There was no discipline from me. I was living life in the fast lane.
“Chris Hughton would say to me ‘you need to focus, you need to tell all your friends to go back to London’ because we used to cause havoc in Newcastle.
Ranger runs his own football academy these days but wants others to learn from his own mistakes after serving time in a young offenders’ institute for his part in a robbery, although he denies using weapons.
He ended up back in jail in 2017 for fraud following a spell at Southend.
Ranger admitted: “Looking back I’ve realised the many silly decisions that led to the situations I found myself in. I messed up.”
However, he still believes that his chance to reach the top has not passed him by as he prepares for FA Cup action.
He added: “I could play in any team at my age if I’m fit – any team.
“It has to be a fit me, not a rusty me. But the rust is coming off.
“I still feel there is one big move left in me. I’m going to roll the dice one more time.”