Gazetteboro

Phil Stamp played for four different Boro managers and they all clearly rated his natural ability.Yet, despite enjoying 10 seasons either in, or on the fringes of the first team squad, he only made 116 appearances before joining Hearts in 2002.There were three reasons for that. Firstly, he was incredibly young when Lennie Lawrence gave him his debut as a promising 17-year-old in October 1993.Secondly he suffered more than his fair share of injuries and, thirdly, he was battling for a place when the club were spending big money on glamorous internationals in the Bryan Robson, Terry Venables and Steve McClaren eras.In the latest GazetteLive podcast, Stamp tells Philip Tallentire all about his life so far, starting in the early years as a football-mad kid kicking a ball around the streets of Berwick Hills.He was courted by the nation’s top clubs, including Liverpool, but chose his hometown team.Fearing that he’d be homesick, Stamp rejected the chance to attend the FA’s prestigious School of Excellence at Lillesh