GLEN Driver once threw his football boots from the pitch to the back of the South Stand at Portman Road.

He had just been on the receiving end of a Suffolk Senior Cup final defeat at the hands of Stowmarket Town while playing for Grundisburgh.

“It was the fourth Senior Cup final I had lost and I was signalling the end of my playing career,” said the free scoring striker.

But three years later the former Leiston manager, who spent 18 months in charge at Felixstowe and Walton United until the summer, is back playing again.

He has left his number two position under Ian Brown at Whitton United and is in the Grundisburgh squad playing in the Kingsley Healthcare SIL Senior Division.

“I played for Whitton Veterans’ and scored eight goals in two games,” said Driver, who runs a caravan sales and repairs company with Lee Brown.

“I got my appetite back and the taste for playing again, going on a strict diet and losing weight.”

But while happy playing for Grundisburgh and also for the Whitton veteran side, the 36-year-old is waiting for the right opportunity to go back into management again and have former Ipswich Town player Tony Kinsella as his right hand man again.

He explained why he left Whitton, and revealed he still looks back at his departure from Felixstowe with a certain sorrow.

“Ian Brown, and chairman Ruel Fox are doing a wonderful job at Whitton,” added Driver. “They have turned things around and Ian has a knack of getting the best out of the players.

“But I found professional levels less than I had found in the Premier Division. They were a great bunch of lads but sometimes there would be less than 10 attending training.

“And at Felixstowe along with Tony we took them from the foot of the table to finish joint sixth.

“I look at them now at the foot of the table with the manager having half the budget that I had and it’s sad.

“We lost just two home games in the whole of last season, but I was not offered a budget for what would have been my third year.

“It was like having a rug pulled from under my feet after spending a year and a half building for the future.

“Now I’m looking for a club that will match the ambitions of Tony and me, but in the meantime I’m getting enjoyment again from playing.”

Driver won’t be recovering his old boots from the back of the stand at Portman Road this season as Grundisburgh were knocked out of the Senior Cup by Achilles.

But he is looking to finding the net with his current pair as his football career takes a new turn.