If you want to find a professional footballer who would still fit in down the pub, look no further than Tom Pope
The Port Vale striker is as grounded as they come with a dry humour that is never far away from his lips, as evident in this week's Sky Bet EFL Q&A
Pope hails from Stoke, is a Vale fan and stands on 99 goals for the club he supports
The shame is that a hamstring injury has currently postponed his chance to bring up the century
The 33-year-old target man names Middlesbrough's Aden Flint as his hardest opponent, David Beckham as his dream team-mate and Brian Clough as the perfect plain-speaking manager to bring out the best in him
Share this article Share 15 shares Angry. Aggressive. Winner. Laid-back
Lazy. Pub. Promotion with Port Vale in 2012-13. It's the only promotion that I've had, it was with the club I love and I scored 33 goals, so it was the perfect season for me
The one moment that stood out above everything else was scoring four goals against Rotherham (in a 6-2 win in September 2012
That will always be my perfect day in football. I don't think I'll ever top that
I scored two in the first half and two in the second half, so they were quite spread out
Rotherham were a great side that season. They ended up going up with us. We were flying and they were flying
They had spent a lot of moneyunder Steve Evans, but we were 4-0 up after about 20 minutes
Then they scored a penalty right before half-time and a free-kick, so they pulled it back to 4-2
It was one of those games where we thought we were going to be under the cosh, but I scored a couple in the second half
I think that was the moment when we thought we could do something special that season
I think I've got that match ball still. I've had four match balls from hat-tricks, but I've given three to charity, so I've only got one left
I think it's the Rotherham one that I've kept.I do anything I can to help, for kids with cancer or anything like that
People always ask me if I've got an old top, but I've given them all away to family, friends, auctions
Anything to raise money. I give my boots away every year, so I've never got anything left sometimes when people ask me
They must think I'm a right tight sod, but I've already given it away. That's my trouble
Aden Flint. I played against Sami Hyypia of Liverpool, but that was one game. Aden Flint's been somebody I've played against probably 10 times in my career
I'm a target man and good in the air, but I'm only 6ft 2 in comparison to him. He's 6ft 7 and he jumps and heads everything
Really he's pretty much dominated me in every game we've played. I think I've scored a couple of goals but that might have been something that's dropped in the box
I try and stay away from him, but he seems to follow me all over the pitch and not give me a yard
He's probably the toughest one. Or Harry Maguire, but he's more of a ball-playing centre-half
Aden Flint just wanted to smash you and head the back of your head the whole game, so it was always a tough one
He always spoke to me at the end of the game. He's a nice bloke, a great bloke. He came through non-league, just like me
He signed for Swindon when he was at Alfreton Town. I was at Rotherham and we were trying to sign him at that time
You generally find when lads have come through non-league and done it the hard way, they don't normally let it go their heads
It's the ones who have hit the big time early who stick their nose up at people and become quite arrogant
I haven't really had one. Contact lenses coming out is always a bad one. They have come out that many times during my career
When you have to come off the pitch and put a new contact lens in, that's always quite embarrassing
You can hear some of the fans going: 'He's lost his bloody lens.'I missed a chance quite badly against Wolves at Molineux one time
The ball was squared to me and I hit it over when I probably should scored, but it wasn't like it was an open goal because the keeper was coming diving out at me
Which song gets you in the mood for a match?'Cast No Shadow' by Oasis. It's just my favourite song
To be honest, the music in the dressing room does my head in. All the R 'n' B and Garage, that doesn't get me up for a game
I don't think it gets anybody up for a game of football, but I don't really listen to the music, I just try and concentrate and get ready
If I had to pick one song that puts a smile on my face, it's 'Cast No Shadow.' I'll listen to it in the car
Indie music's the only music I'll listen to - Stone Roses, Oasis, The Jam, The Beatles - any of the old school stuff
I've got Radio X on all the time in the car. Oh, doner kebab. I'll eat a Chinese or a curry, but I've never been a massive takeaway guy
But there's nothing better if you've had a night out than getting a doner kebab on your way home
It's always a guilty pleasure. Actually, I don't even feel guilty about it.I'll have one very rarely to be honest
As you get older, you try and be a little bit wiser. When you're 19, 20, you can go out most weekends and have a kebab or a McDonald's and get away with it
As you're getting older, doing less running and getting sorer, it's a lot harder to keep the weight off, so you try and limit it
I'd say it's once a month now. If I've gone down the pub for a few, I might have a doner kebab, but nothing excessive
David Beckham. If there's one person you want putting a ball on your head, it's that man
He used to get people like Andy Cole, who couldn't head a ball, 20 goals a season with headers
So I'd have probably done alright if I'd had him on the wing.If you've got people like Beckham and (Ryan) Giggs on the wing, you don't even have to be a good header of the ball
I think anybody in that era could have scored goals in that Man Utd team. It was just on a plate for the likes of (Ole Gunnar) Solskjaer and (Ruud) van Nistelrooy
The great United goalscorers always scored 25 or 30 goals a season because of the quality they had got on either wing
We haven't got anyone to do that at Port Vale this season. I have to cross them in myself and then head them in
We're struggling a bit this year. Brian Clough. The stories you hear about him. All the players who ever played for him have got a story - a bit like Gazza really
Then it was his humour. I think I'd have probably ended up paying him to play for him
That's the gist of the way the contract talks went with him. I think you ended up signing a blank piece of paper and hoping he paid you well for it
He was hard and nasty and cruel, but he was also funny and a great manager. If I had to pick a manager that summed up my kind of personality and my kind of bloke, then it'd be Cloughie
I used to fit windows before I became a pro, so I imagine I'd probably still be doing that
It will be an achievement to get to 100 goals for Port Vale. But I've got to 99 and then done my hamstring
I'm out for four weeks, so I can't even think about it at the minute. It's something that I've had my eye on for a while now
Once you get to 80 or so, you start thinking about the hundred. It'll be nice to get it eventually
And Port Vale are my club, which makes it even more special for me. As a kid, you grow up trying to score just one goal for your club
If you did that, you'd be happy, so forget 99. It's an honour for a player to score a goal for his own club
A good feeling. I think the Port Vale fans know every single thing about me. I managed my local Sunday league team for a few years, but I stopped a couple of years ago when my little boy was born
I probably will do it again eventually, but I still go and watch them when I can
I just can't commit every week.I play off seven at golf and I always wear black and white pants under my shorts
I used to have a pair of Port Vale pants when I first started. I was playing for Crewe, our local rivals, and I used to turn up with these Port Vale pants on
I think I had three pairs of these boxer shorts which I must have got for Christmas, so I always wore my Vale pants for games
It's a bit cringy, looking back now.They ripped, so now I've got some Calvin Klein black and white pants that I wear on a match day
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