QPR defender Steve Cook has told of the ‘fulfilment’ buying Step 7 Westfield has given him – even if he admits he does have to get the beers in to keep the players on side!
The Hastings-born centre-back returned to his home town to take majority control of the Mid Sussex League Premier Division side in June 2022 and hopes to build a real legacy at the Parish Field.
Cook, 32, has a great fondness for the grassroots game and hopes his investment will propel the Westies up the leagues but admits it is rewarding for him as well as the club.
“I’ve always been around these lads and this environment, watching friends of mine play for Hastings United over the years. It gives me fulfilment,’ said Cook, who made almost 400 Football League appearances during 11 years with Bournemouth.
“It’s a completely different game from the one I’ve been playing and football gets a lot harder the further you go down the pyramid. But I love the competitiveness of Non-League.”
Cook was handed the chance to get involved at Westfield by good friend Jack Stapley, who is the current chairman.
The Stapley family run the East Sussex club while Cook is playing in the Championship but being back down south after spending 18 months with Premier League Nottingham Forest means he will be a more regular visitor to Parish Field.
“I really appreciate what Jack and his family do, it’s a family-run club, staffed by volunteers as is the story up and down the country,’ he added.
Blueprint
“The game has been good to me and I wanted to come on board, invest and help to raise the club’s profile and it’s nice I can give back a small piece of my time.’
There is more than just football to Cook’s blueprint for the future,
with the Westfield Downs Project for a new ground finally beginning to come to fruition after 20 years in the planning.
One thing is clear, for the club to progress, they must move on from their traditional home. ‘Children don’t always excel in the classroom,’ says Cook.
“So we’re aiming to run a college degree course alongside the football at the new ground, adding a classroom it could be like a West- field Sports Academy, filtering players into adult football.”
Cook played in the top flight, mainly under Eddie Howe’s management, and has a hands-off approach when it comes to his passion project.
That said, he knows when to give the Westies a little boost. “Money is the biggest thing, other than that I leave it to Jack! I have a say but he handles the day-to-day. I just give my input when needed,” Cook said.
Beers
“I love my home town. I love Hastings and my friends and family are there, that’s a big benefit of signing for QPR.
“At the start and end of the season, I send them a video message or a voice note to the WhatsApp group, I send boots down. And sometimes I bribe them with a few beers!”
Cook is happy to leave his friends in control and believes promotion is the aim, which could take them into the Southern Combination League Division One – and senior football at Step 6 next term if all goes well.
“We’re not expecting to be in the Football League but just to have a well-run, friendly club. It’s difficult to say where we want to be but we are going into a new ground and are talking to the parish council about getting floodlights and a stand,’ he added. “But we want to get promoted and the overall plan is to make the preliminary rounds of the FA Cup.”
