Film fans of a certain vintage will remember the 1998 movie Sliding Doors, a romantic drama starring Gwyneth Paltrow.

It told two parallel stories of how the life of Helen Quilley (played by Paltrow) would have panned out depending on whether or not she caught her train home from work on time.

Footballer Jimmy Smith’s Sliding Doors moment came when he was just 15.

The prolific former Cheltenham Town striker had just been released by St Mirren and was heading south for a trial 500 miles away in Torquay.

Smith, now 47, and still living and working in Cheltenham, takes up the story.

“Football was my life,” said the Scot. “I’d been born into a big football family and my dad was a right half in Scottish junior football.

“I started playing for Linwood Rangers when I was five or six and was in the same team as Paul Lambert who is now manager of Wolves.

“We both got spotted by St Mirren and used to go training there every Tuesday and Thursday night.

“Paul – we used to call him Trevor because in those days he looked like Trevor Francis – played up front and I played in the old-fashioned 10 role. We were beating teams 16-0 and he’d get nine goals and I’d get four.

“But when it came to the crunch they took Paul on and let me go. Sir Alex Ferguson’s brother, Martin, told me I was being released and it was gut-wrenching.

“I’d got no Plan B. I was never any good at school; to be fair I was never at school. I was good at talking but never any good at listening. Being released felt like the end of the world.

“I got a job as a YTS in a furniture store and then we went on a family holiday to Torquay.

“We used to go on holiday to Torquay every year. We had a big family and it seemed like there were hundreds of us who would head south.

“I remember being in Paignton just outside Torquay and seeing in the local newspaper that Torquay United, who were then in the old Division Four, were on the lookout for players to take on trial.

“I mentioned it to my parents but they said to leave it because it was too far away from Scotland.

“Anyway, I rang them when I got back and they said to come down for a week’s trial and I jumped at the chance.

“My mum was crying because she said she was losing her son but I was determined to go.

“My dad was a motor mechanic and he said he’d drive me down to Torquay.

“Everything was fine until we got to Warrington and the car broke down. We’d got an oil leak and it couldn’t be fixed straight away.

“My dad turned to me and said, ‘You can go south and make a life for yourself or you can go back up north and do nothing’.

“I went to Warrington bus station, caught two buses to Exeter before catching the train to Torquay.”

That decision to continue his journey south changed Smith’s footballing life forever and culminated in helping two clubs reach Wembley – Torquay and Cheltenham – as well as two promotions and 131 goals for Cheltenham in a seven-year spell.

Smith made an early impression during his Torquay trial, playing three or four games and scoring a couple of goals.

A few weeks later he was offered a second trial which ended with him accepting a two-year YTS deal.

“It was 1983, I was 16 and I was on £7.50 a week,” he remembers. “It broke my mother’s heart that I was leaving home.”

His mum may have been upset but Smith had few problems settling in Torquay. He was one of 12 YTS boys at the club and he made some good friends.

The following year Lee Sharpe, who went on to play for Manchester United and England, signed YTS forms at Plainmoor and he and Smith were in digs together where they shared a room.

Sharpe made an instant impact at the club and went straight into the first team at 16. “He pushed me down the pecking order,” said Smith.

But three months later he was gone with the deal to take the left winger to Old Trafford concluded by Sir Alex Ferguson and Archie Knox in the front room of Smith’s digs.

By this time Smith was banging in the goals for the reserves but was still waiting for manager Cyril Knowles to give him a first-team chance.

“I was 17 and he felt I wasn’t ready but I felt I was,” he said.

“A few weeks later he changed his mind and told me I’d be in the squad for the game against Lincoln adding that I wasn’t to go nightclubbing before the game!

“We won 1-0 and the manager said he wanted to offer me a two-year professional contract.”

Life was good for Smith and the club who reached the final of Sherpa Van Trophy at the old Wembley in 1989 after a thrilling win over Wolves in the two-legged semi-final.

The final was to end in defeat against Bolton and worse was to come for Smith following the sacking of Knowles. New manager Dave Smith said that Division Four was all about pace and power and Smith knew his days at the club were numbered.

His parents wanted him to go home but after a trial at Weymouth he joined Salisbury City where he was on £90 a game.

”I scored something like 48 goals in 52 games and Sheffield Wednesday and Aberdeen were rumoured to be interested in me,” he said.

“I asked to leave and a £20,000 price tag was put on my head. Eventually they said they’d accept any bid above £5,000.

“I remember Lindsay Parsons (Cheltenham manager) and Colin Farmer (Cheltenham director) came down to watch me on a Wednesday night and I had a nightmare.

“They said they’d take me on loan. There were only a few games of the season left and Cheltenham were down at the bottom of the Conference.

“We went to Slough and won 3-1 and I got two goals and the chairman Dennis Deacon said he’d pay the £5,000 transfer fee himself. Whether he did or the club did, that’s how I became a Cheltenham player.”

Cheltenham failed to beat the drop that season and endured a number of near promotion misses in the ensuing seasons under Parsons although Smith was regularly among the goals.

“We kept finishing runners-up,” he said. “I remember near the end of one season I was having driving lessons. I think there were about 15 games to go and Colin Farmer, who had a showroom in Cheltenham, said he’d sponsor me a car for the rest of my time at the club if I scored eight goals before the end of the season.

“It was the last game of the season against Waterlooville and I needed one more goal. Four minutes from time I hit a half volley into the top corner and I ran towards the directors’ box with a celebration of a car in motion. I’d never had a car before.”

Parsons’ failure to get Cheltenham back into the Conference saw him eventually leave the club.

Smith was sorry to see Parsons go but was not a fan of Chris Robinson, the man brought in to replace him.

“We always knew he wasn’t going to last long,” said Smith.

Robinson’s successor, Steve Cotterill, quickly took the club to a new level on and off the pitch and was soon steering the club back to the top flight of non-league football.

“I didn’t play a lot that season when we went up but Steve made it clear to me he didn’t think I would get many games as the team was playing so well,” Smith remembers.

“I still played around 25 games on the right wing that season, finishing second in the league and winning the FA Trophy. We had that amazing game against Halifax who we beat 4-0. Jason Eaton got a hat-trick, Bob Bloomer scored that brilliant volley and I tracked back to head a ball off our line.

“The FA Trophy final was against Southport at Wembley. I’d been out of favour and it was between me and Keith Knight for the right-wing position.

“Keith got the nod but I got on in the 65th minute and won the foul which gave us the free-kick that led to Jason Eaton’s goal.

“That’s when the party began and we spent the night celebrating in the Carlton Hotel in Montpellier in Cheltenham.”

The following season was even more successful for Cheltenham as they clinched promotion to the Football League for the first time in their history.

It was not so good for Smith, however, as he struggled for game time.

His career at Cheltenham was nearly over. While Cheltenham’s fans were celebrating their club’s title win, he was preparing for a move to Gloucester City where he played for a season under Brian Hughes.

These days Smith has little involvement with football. His son Jordan lives in Cheltenham and recently became a dad for the first time while his daughter Alicia is studying for her A-levels at Bournside School and lives with Smith and his partner of 10 years, Kate.

“I’ve had coaching offers,” said Smith. “But I just think, do I have enough time and the answer is no. I’ve got a grandchild and Saturdays are for families now. I’ve done the football.”

So does he miss football? “Gordon Bennett, yes,” came the quick reply. “It’s like losing a limb. I miss the camaraderie.

“I’ve been on tours to Benidorm, Tenerife and Germany. Being close to people is special and I’ve had some special times.

“I’ve played at Wembley and no one can take that away from me.”