Loan star Turner playing for keeps
Graham Gibson • Published 20 Jan 2012 09:10
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NEW Pars keeper Iain Turner hopes to help the club beat the drop and kick-start his own career into the process.
The 27-year-old loan signing from Preston may have played only 76 games since 2003 but he has already crammed in a few football highlights and lowlights to remember.
Turner joined Everton in a dream move from Stirling Albion in 2003 but found his way blocked by quality keepers such as Richard Wright, Paul Gerrard and later Nigel Martyn and Tim Howard.
Turner found national fame when he was sent off after only nine minutes during his Premier League debut for the Toffees against Blackburn Rovers, after picking up a header from one of his own defenders, Alan Stubbs, outside the penalty area.
Add in nine loan spells before finally joining Preston at the beginning of this season, where he achieved the remarkable feat of scoring against Notts County, and he has had a few moments to remember.
Turner told Press Sport, "It's a different world down in the Premiership. They're all quality goalkeepers.
"When I first signed it was Richard Wright and Paul Gerrard. They went one summer and Nigel Martyn came in. He's an unbelievable keeper, then Tim Howard came in.
"These are hard keepers to shift but you pick up so much just from training with them and they were a great help to us with advice.
"I had four starts and two sub appearances for Everton, including three in the Carling Cup and three in the league.
"I've had a lot of loan spells so I'm used to travelling about and at the end of last season I was at Preston on loan then signed for them as a free agent for this year."
However, the luckless keeper suffered a broken toe just as he was settling into the Preston side and did it again when he tried to rush back too soon.
"I was doing quite well but unfortunately I got an injury at the wrong time during a game against Yeovil.
"There was a short back pass and when I cleared the ball the centre forward, as they do, went through me. I played the rest of the game and the next day found out it was broken.
"I was in a cast for a few weeks and came back far too soon.
"It still wasn't fully healed and when I was playing on the Saturday it didn't feel right.
"I trained on the Monday, pushed off through it against someone in a stretching exercise and it went.
"My goal against Notts County was just me trying to find the centre forward and it took an awkward bounce and it wrong-footed the goalie.
"It's a nice thing to have on your record but you feel bad for who you score against."
After that goal he was hailed by then manager Phil Brown for his desire to play and prove he's an international keeper when other keepers would rather sit at a Premiership side and do nothing.
Having already represented his country at under-21 and B team level, as well as being selected for the full team squad, he is keen to put himself back in Craig Levein's thoughts once again.
"I feel I've got a lot to offer and need the chance to play games," he said.
"I want to prove to others what I can do and it is a good chance to do that back in Scotland in the SPL, which is a good league.
"My number one aim is playing regular football and anything that comes after that is a bonus because I've had a stop-start career with different loan spells.
"If I stay up in Scotland after this loan spell I'll be delighted and if I go back down the road again I'll still be happy. My future is just the next game."
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