Rob Smith is what you’d call a proper grassroots football man.

He’s played the game, he’s managed teams, he’s set up youth teams and he’s worked on the administrative side.

He’s still involved on the administrative side today – he’s secretary of Kings Stanley – and that’s not all because every Saturday he runs the line for the club’s flagship team in Division One of the Stroud League.

And that’s no mean achievement, because Rob is now 63 and took up the option of early retirement just days before Christmas.

But even though that means he’s now got more time on his hands, you get the impression that Rob is not the type of bloke to take it easy any time soon.

When The Local Answer called, he was decorating the home in Ebley he shares with his wife Patricia.

And while he was on the top rung of the ladder painting the ceiling of the spare bedroom, the football club he has been associated with for the best part of 30 years are looking to climb a few rungs of their own ladder over the next couple of seasons or so.

“We were very successful when I was first at the club in the 1990s and early 2000s,” explained Rob. “Steve Doughty took over as manager and we won Division One of the Northern Senior League.

“We went up into the County League and we won numerous cups.”

They were glory days indeed but as is so often the case, a run of success was followed by tougher times.

These days the club’s second team play in Division Five of the Stroud League but although there is strong competition from near neighbours Stonehouse Town and Leonard Stanley, Rob is optimistic about Kings Stanley’s future.

“We’ve stabilised and we’re sitting tidy,” he said, “and we’re looking to progress in the next couple of years.

“We’ve got a new manager in Steve Tanner – he’s our player/manager – and he’s very keen. He wants to get us into the Northern Senior League in the next couple of seasons.

“We’ve got the set-up to play at a higher level of football.”

And Rob should certainly know because after making his name on the local football circuit as a left-back with Uley he became involved with Kings Stanley for the first time in the late 80s and the rest, as they say, is history.

So how did he get involved with Kings Stanley?

“It was 4th September 1989,” he said. “That was when me and my friend Andy Bonnie set up the Kings Stanley youth section.

“We both had 10-year-old sons, and I remember that first session the only ones who turned up were my son Adam, Andy’s son Nicky and the two Brown boys who were the sons of a neighbour.”

Rob was still playing for Uley at the time, but from those uncertain beginnings the youth section certainly flourished – so much so that Adam Smith is still playing centre-back for the club’s first team today.

It was to be a few more years before Rob cut his ties with Uley, however, and he had a spell as their manager before he was persuaded that Kings Stanley was where his footballing future lay.

“It was Roger Bassett,” chuckled Rob. “He was secretary of Kings Stanley at the time and he’s now the chairman. He’s a real stalwart of the club, he’s been there since the 60s.

“He asked me to run the 2nd team. They were in Division One of the Stroud League at the time and I accepted. I did that for about five years and I’ve been secretary for about five years now.”

And while Rob has certainly been a big part of the club for the best part of three decades – the youth section that he helped set up is currently running an under-15 team – he is the first to admit that his input is relatively small compared to that of the aforementioned Roger Bassett.

“He’s our leader,” said Rob. “He’s not only chairman of the football club, he’s also secretary of the sports club.

“He runs the show. He’s well into his 70s but he’s very active and very fit. He’s always there watering the plants or putting in new light bulbs.

“He played for Kings Stanley for years and his son Andrew also played for the club, and is now the treasurer of the sports club.”

The football club share their ground at Marling Close with the cricket club and Rob added: “There’s sport played at the ground all the year round. It’s a big part of the community and a good area for sport.”

And while Rob admits that cricket was never for him – “I could never be bothered with all that standing around in the field,” he laughed – he is certainly bowled over by the number of good people associated with the football club.

“Andy Roseblade is our minutes’ man,” he said. “He’s been at the club for a long time and does so much. He puts up the nets, cleans the changing rooms.

“Then there’s our president Nick Reiger and his son Nick junior who runs the junior section.”

And if Rob hadn’t needed to get back to his painting – the ceiling was white and the walls a creamy light brown if you were wondering! – you get the feeling that there would have been many more names that he would have been happy to roll out.

As it is, with the half-dozen or so mentioned, you get the impression that Kings Stanley Football Club are in very good hands indeed.