Jed Steer spoke to the Aston Villa News & Record ahead of Sunday's game against Luton Town.
The goalkeeper, who represented both clubs, discussed the fan support he's received since his departure, commentary duties with VillaTV, getting the gloves back on, his time at the Hatters and working with Emi Martínez.
You can read the full interview with Jed in the latest edition of the matchday progamme, which you can purchase at Villa Park or online via the link below.
Here's an excerpt from our chat with Jed...
Aston Villa News & Record
When your time at the club came to an end in the summer there was an outpouring of support from fans. How much did that mean to you?
“It was a response that I didn’t see coming – I was totally overwhelmed. The support, people saying ‘thank you’ and remembering the good times we had that season when we went up was brilliant. For me, I just did my job and did what every player did during those games and gave my best. It’s great that people still look back on those times and look fondly on them. That’s certainly something that I do all the time.”
You’ve remained involved with the club via your commentary work with VillaTV. How much have you enjoyed that experience?
“When I found out earlier in the year that I was going to need another bit of surgery, I thought to myself ‘right, I need to try and do something here’. I started with some coaching badges, so I enrolled onto my UEFA B Licence. I got speaking to someone at the club about the commentary and media side of the game and how it all works. He put me in touch with someone about doing co-comms. I thought great, I’ve never done it before and it will get me out of my comfort zone. I did the first one with Brian Little for an Under-21s game and looked at how he did it and thought ‘that’s the way to do it’. I probably didn’t enjoy it as much as I do now because it was the first time I’d ever done it. But the more I’ve done it recently, the more I’ve enjoyed it. It’s something now that I enjoy. It’s similar to playing football in that you’re put on the spot. When the commentator’s coming to you for the first time, you’ve got to get your words out and get off to a good start. Just being able to come to Villa Park, talk about the game and watch football has been really good fun. I’ve really enjoyed it.”
How excited are you to get back playing after a long injury lay-off?
“Getting the gloves back on has been amazing. At one stage, I wasn’t sure that would happen. For me to do that is amazing and I’ve been out for so long that everyday I put my boots and my gloves on, and I walk out on the pitch, I smile. Whether I’ve had a good session or a bad session, it’s just about loving being out there, giving my best and taking myself as far as I can go. You can always improve and get better and that’s what I’ll be aiming to do over the next few years. I can’t wait to get back out there and to play my first game. I’m just focussed on getting fit and giving myself the best opportunity to play for as long as I can.”
While at Villa, you went on loan to Luton Town. How do you look back on that spell?
“That was my favourite loan spell. The people at the club, the relationships that everyone has there – not just the players but the staff as well. Everyone was pulling in the same direction. I know a new manager has come in since I was there on loan, but I still speak to a lot of the players and it doesn’t seem as though loads has changed. The togetherness is there and you can see that from how they got promoted last season. What’s happened there over the last year to 18 months, even before Nathan Jones first went there in his first spell, how far the club has come is amazing. It was so good to go on loan there and I loved every minute of it. It’s so good to see the club and all the great people there have the success they’ve had.”
