The former Liverpool and West Ham defender, who used to play for the celebrated Senrab youth team, has welcomed new facilities at London’s Hackney Marshes

“It was a mud patch,” remembers Paul Konchesky. “You could even see the cows over the fence … I remember it was always freezing cold in the winter and you would be lucky if your match was on. But I loved every minute of it and couldn’t wait to play every weekend with my mates, having fun. I think that has gone out of the game a little bit.”

Nearly 25 years since he made his first appearance for the celebrated youth team Senrab alongside John Terry, Ledley King and Bobby Zamora, the former Charlton, West Ham, Liverpool, Leicester, Fulham and England defender took a trip down memory lane as he helped mark the opening of new facilities at one of English football’s most recognisable places.

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Hackney Marshes, built on the rubble of bombed buildings transported there after the Blitz, has hosted matches since the end of the second world war and at one stage had as many as 120 pitches, with such luminaries as Eric Cantona and Lionel Messi among those who have filmed adverts in this corner of east London.

That number had almost halved in recent years until the intervention of Hackney council and the Football Foundation, who provided a £1.9m grant to help fund a £17m transformation of the facilities that has seen 30 pitches reopened after they were turned into a car park for the 2012 Olympics. The Marshes now have 68 full-size pitches, plus several all-weather facilities, for use by local junior clubs, with a series of new changing rooms culminating with the opening of the North Marshes pavilion in September.

“I think it’s the biggest area of grassroots pitches in Europe,” says Mick Beanse, the Hackney council project manager. “The facilities were in desperate need of refurbishment, because some were like cattle sheds that were built in the 1960s and 70s. It’s an iconic place – on Sunday mornings we have 2,000 people who travel from all over to play football. There are people still unhappy about the Olympics but from our perspective it’s worked out very well.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest An aerial view shows the 111 football pitches on Hackney Marshes in 1962. Photograph: Bentley Archive/Popperfoto/Popperfoto/Getty Images

The manicured surfaces that stretch for as far as the eye can see are certainly an improvement on Konchesky’s era. Spotted playing for his local side in Dagenham, he was recruited by Senrab at the age of 11 and would make the weekly pilgrimage to the Marshes to play in the all-conquering side who also featured Jlloyd Samuel, Kemal Izzet and Adebayo Akinfenwa, with Bournemouth’s Jermain Defoe in the age group below.

“It was always fun,” he says. “We would train on Tuesdays and then meet up here on Sunday mornings. It was very relaxed, probably just like any grassroots club around the country. We were all mates who wanted to win and luckily enough we had a fantastic team, so we often did. But to turn up and play with your mates is a big thing in itself.”

Formed in 1961, Senrab still run 30 teams and play their home matches up the A12 at Wanstead Flats. The latest estimates are that they have produced more than 170 professional players and 20 internationals, although the club no longer dominates the local landscape in the same way and required a donation from Terry in 2011 to stay afloat. According to Konchesky, the decline of grassroots clubs like Senrab has been to the detriment of young players’ development.

“I find it a little it hard to accept that some of the academies are taking this type of football away from some of the kids,” he says. “Once you’ve signed for a club then the grassroots has to stop. I had five or six years with Senrab until I was about 14 before I had to stop but nowadays kids sign at around nine and they’re missing out on a big chunk of enjoyment. The pressure is on young players too early. I’m sure Senrab would love to have another group of players like that but it’s much harder these days.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Paul Konchesky: ‘You never know. I’m keeping my options open.’ Photograph: Linda Nylind/The Guardian

In the summer, Konchesky started mentoring some of the young players at West Ham but admits he has no desire to become a manager, other than guiding his youngest son’s under-seven side . But having left the Conference South side East Thurrock United in August after only five matches and with some of his former Senrab teammates starting to hang up their boots, the 37-year-old has yet to announce his retirement.

“You never know. I’m keeping my options open,” he says with a smile. “I try to keep fit and if something comes up I will look at it.”

The Football Foundation is the UK’s largest sports charity. It’s funded by the Premier League, The FA and the Government, via Sport England