ROB OGLEBY wants to help the stars of the future navigate their way past the football pitfalls after becoming an intermediary.

To the man on the street, intermediary means agent with the likes of Jorge Mendes and Mino Raiola springing to mind because of their illustrious clientele.

Ogleby is eager to deliver a service that will guide footballers making their way in the game, utilising his five years experience as a professional for the likes of Wrexham, Hearts and Livingston.

“You need someone to speak to who knows the game,” said Ogleby, who left Coventry for Scotland as a teenager.

“As a former professional I understand the stresses and demands of day-to-day life as a footballer.

“People might watch you play a game on a Saturday, but they don’t see the whole week and whether you’ve had a bad training session or two.

“I want to help young players who are under so much pressure to succeed. You could be 18 and in the first-team, where if you win or lose if impacts whether or not a team-mate can pay their mortgage or not.

“It’s easy to become an agent, but there aren’t many who can offer the experience of being in the environment and the aim is to help players fulfil their potential.

“Intermediaries have a bad reputation, but at 18 when I was let go by Coventry I didn’t know what to do and my dad was a rugby man, so I spoke to an agent and he got me a trial with Hearts and helped with the move to Wrexham and the Wales Under-21s caps.”

Ogleby, who is working in recruitment in London on a daily basis, has been “reaching out to players” as he looks to put together a portfolio with the domestic football scene suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The 28-year-old has also seen his work as a southern-based scout for Wrexham take a backseat as a result of the nation-wide lockdown.

Ogleby returned to the role he occupied during Sam Ricketts time at The Racecourse in January after Wrexham’s chief scout, Andy Kidby, got in touch to help with preparing Dean Keates’ Reds for upcoming National League fixtures.

“I came in when Luke Fogarty came to Wrexham with Sam and they were looking for people down south to watch opponents and players,” said Ogleby, who has joined The Sports Agents. “I really enjoyed it, but then Luke went with Sam to Shrewsbury and it stopped until January when Andy said that the club were looking for people to scout teams and players again.

“It means usually watching a team play twice and building a report and watching players in the area, which gets me out to a game every Saturday and sometimes in midweek.”

It means that Ogleby gets his football fix after stepping out of the professional game as a player in 2015, before brief spells with Leamington and Wingate and Finchley.

“My knee hasn’t been right since Leamington,” conceded Ogleby. “I’ve torn cartilage in it and working has been more important than getting it fixed.”

Ogleby is now a retired professional footballer at the age of 28, but looks back fondly on a career that saw him lift the FA Trophy with Wrexham at Wembley and win 12 caps for Wales U-21s.

“I left Wrexham for Livingston, but I picked up an ankle injury, which seemed to plague me,” reflected Ogleby. “I was with Jordan White, but by the time I was fit the manager who brought me in had left.

“I wasn’t playing under the new manager so went to see him to ask why. He told me one thing and the board told me another, so I left for Nuneaton and then Leamington.

“I decided a move to London was right for me then. All my best mates are in London and it was a decision over picking up one-year contracts here and there or setting myself up for life with a job.

“I’ve no regrets. I’ve won a trophy at Wembley and how many people can say that? I’ve also met some great people along the way.”

It’s that level-headed approach that will stand Ogleby in good stead as an agent.

“I want to help people achieve their goals now,” he continued. “People think because you’re a footballer you are on X amount of cash a week, but outside of probably the top half of League One, it’s not as glamorous as it seems.

“There are plenty of stresses associated with being on a one-year contract and constantly having that nagging ‘What’s next?’ question in the back of your mind while you are playing.

“Helping players is something I’m interested in and when you have a passion for something it certainly helps.”