BEING a kit man with Wanderers involves a whole lot more than just balling socks.

The responsibility for keeping players’ shirts ship-shape this season has fallen on the relatively young shoulders of Ali Marland.

A familiar face around the Reebok for many years – his dad Simon is the club secretary and author of several Whites-related books – the 22-year-old took on the role earlier this season from Russ Byrne-Fraser after a spell working as his assistant.

Marland’s role behind the scenes is often a thankless and unglamorous one but the life-long Wanderers fan takes pride in the fact he can play a small part in the club’s success.

“People say it isn’t hard to throw a bit of gear about,” he said. “But I think if the players feel good about themselves, they are going to play better on the pitch.

“If they have got the right boots they are happy. Then I have done my job, it’s up to them out there.”

It is Marland’s task to cater for all the players’ kit and equipment needs on both a match-day and at training during the week. He admits dealing with finely-tuned Premier League players can be a challenge but he has yet to get a request he couldn’t handle.

“I haven’t had anything too stupid,” he said. “Each player wants something different for training and games but that’s part of the job. Some of them need to have things there on the spot or else they start shouting.

“Matty Taylor is quite superstitious and needs his boots to be really shiny. I don’t mind that though because you want to do your best for them – no-one in the stadium wants them to win more than I do.”

Marland was on the books at Burnley when he first offered to help former kit man and masseur Faz Page at the Reebok on his summer holidays six years ago.

And having grown up at the club he can say with some degree of certainty that today’s players can count on much more luxurious surroundings than their predecessors.

“I have been around the place since I was about 10 and it has changed massively,” he said. “People don’t realise the state the Euxton dressing room was in, even back when Youri Djorkaeff, Bernard Mendy and Salva Ballesta were playing here. To think what they saw when they arrived – the old bread vans – it was amazing.

“It might have been a culture shock to them but to be fair, they just got on with it. They were real professionals.”

As kit man, Marland knows his own preparation must be perfect. Missing shin pads or wrong-sized shorts are not an option.

“You have banter with the players, and they will hammer you – especially if something isn’t there on the spot,” he said.

“I try and give as good as I get but it never gets too serious. It could, and I have seen players go mad when something isn’t there and you’re 4-0 down at half time.

“It hasn’t happened when I was in charge, though.”

Marland took the top role at the start of this season, after Byrne-Fraser resigned from the post. And the pupil has now become master, with former pro James Barrow – son of former Bury manager Graham Barrow – recruited as his assistant.

“It was strange how it all came about when Russ left but it is second nature to me now so I just got on with it,” he said.

“I have got Jimmy Barrow helping me out with everything. I know him from school and we both played at Burnley, so he knows the crack and has a football brain having played himself.”

The job involves long hours, particularly on away games when the kit team travel down the night before to make sure equipment is prepared for the next day.

Each kit is meticulously laid-out alongside a photo of each individual player – and Marland takes pride in the detail.

“It does give you pride to see everything laid out and right,” he said. “You make your own individual changes, for example, Russ used to fold everything up. I prefer to hang the shirts up because when you walk into the dressing room and see your shirt there, you get a bit more of a buzz from it.”

His efforts may often go unacknowledged but the easier the kit man blends into the background the better as far as Marland is concerned.

“A few players comment if you’ve done a good job but for me, the less said the better. Let them get on with it.”

After the game, 60 towels, 25 coats and dozens of pieces of kit and boots are crammed back into four giant skips and takent back to Euxton for cleaning.

The club’s academy players still scrub boots for training in the time-honoured tradition, but one of the club’s other unsung heroes washes the mainstay of the equipment.

“Liz in the laundry does a great job,” added Marland. “She puts a lot of work in that people don’t see.”