A quiet man of very few public words, Jermaine Beckford produced quote of the season at Leicester City in his one and only official interview with the local press, that’s my view having conducted about 300 this term.

The former Everton frontman moved to the East Midlands for a reported £2.5m/£3m and glided through the club car park in nondescript fashion at about 10pm on transfer deadline day in August. No swagger, he said hello to us reporters, most of which were not asking questions, we knew the score and were happy to honour our part of the bargain.

The move was on, I knew that at about 11am but there was some negotiating to do in order to quench our audience’s thirst for Foxes content.

I agreed to base myself at the club for the evening, just one room away from the inner sanctum to ensure any players coming or going from the club were highlighted to me as the t’s were crossed and I’s dotted, all this on the proviso that I wouldn’t break any embargos set, fair deal.

As a fan, there are things to look out for in the press, not all is as it seems, and social media has made this a tougher task balanced against offering instant access to the masses.

The six usual suspects were gathered in the press lounge with a tea urn bubbling away and some cold pizza being devoured, watching the yellow BREAKING NEWS line of doom on the television, we did chuckle at some of the lines sold into the desks of fellow Sport broadcasters (and yes I’ve fallen for a few in my time).

We got wind that Jermaine was set to arrive at 10pm, we gathered outside and the TV guys recorded him entering the building.

Cue Twitter mocking such as ‘Stringer the Beckford deal’s already done, why are you bothering being at the club’ ‘What a waste of time, we’ve had no news’ other than the hourly updates on the radio and Tweets which state I think Beckford deal is done but we’ve agreed not to confirm the deal until the paperwork is signed and faxed to the authorities (the pigeon was feeling sick apparently so fax was preferable)

We know the deal is done; we’re not going to break the embargo set as the agreed interview may not happen and THAT is what the audience want, to hear from their new striker, that interview is key (that said I’m not afraid to upset characters at a football club and lose out on the content).

These deals are brokered all the time, you scratch our back etc. It’s part of the game played on a daily basis. Football clubs and journalists know the form but most of these deals are with local press as it’s they who have to deal with the club every day. Upset someone and it could affect the delicate relationship with the manager, some more than others.

It’s one of the toughest parts of my job. Being impartial and trustworthy are two of the principles that are key to me personally which is why I’ve fallen out with the likes of Milan Mandaric, Nigel Pearson and many others at LCFC in my time here, it’s part of the job. A journalist who hasn’t been ‘snubbed’ by a manager isn’t asking the right questions and becomes and mouthpiece for the club; in doing so loses it’s credibility and impartiality, in my opinion. I’m happy to suffer the consequences of the truth being broadcast; it’s my job to inform the public of information which I think is of interest (through radio, TV, on-line or social media)

We ran the Beckford line at the agreed time and so came the pooled interview, outside the changing room with a badge in the background for the TV guys to use. We were all in at once with me kicking off the questions. When I asked about signing under the pressure of a transfer deadline day move, smiles were visible from my colleagues when “weak people feel pressure” was his response, a quote worth the wait.

Jermaine then had an interesting season with the press. He didn’t speak to us at all after that night, we asked on a regular basis. A quiet chap but his silence didn’t help when he needed some support in difficult times.

Magically though some quotes found their way to Sky Sports after a very public show of petulance at Peterborough when he refused to push forward for one last attack with Leicester one nil down and received a blasting from the boss.

Wonder how those quotes found their way into the public domain? Very timely ‘interview’ wasn’t it? That’s if it were Jermaine who answered the questions of course.

For the record I think he is a talented footballer and hope he stays at Leicester City although find it unlikely, be nice to talk a little more though Jermaine.

There’s sometimes more to the football press than meets the eye……..