ON manoeuvres at Dean Court, Lee Bradbury could have found the perfect ally in Joe Roach.

But while the pair may have been in the Army together, Cherries’ caretaker manager is unlikely to start pulling rank on the club’s youth and reserve team boss.

As a young solider making his way in the services, Bradbury excelled at football and first crossed paths with sergeant major Roach when he was a senior coach for the Army representative team.

Having signed up as a 16-year-old in June 1991, infantryman Bradbury spent his formative years patrolling the streets of Northern Ireland.

In his down time, he starred as a striker for the Army junior and senior teams, his goalscoring exploits eventually catching the eye of Portsmouth.

And contrary to popular belief, when he left the forces in September 1995, Bradbury received an honourable discharge and did not have to buy himself out.

“The first 12 months were the hardest year of my life,” recalls Bradbury, who went on to rack up 570 career appearances before hanging up his boots to concentrate on managing.

“I did my training at Folkestone before joining the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment at Colchester. We were trained to go on to the streets and I was based in Omagh for a couple of years. There were three security force bases and we did a month at each, in rotation. I remember the one at Strabane being full-on.”

During a playing career spanning 16 years, Bradbury was the subject of transfer fees totalling around £5m. His tours of duty on the footballing circuit took in Manchester City, Crystal Palace, Portsmouth for a second time, Walsall, Oxford United, Southend and Cherries. He also served four other clubs on loan.

“One of the main reasons I joined the Army was to get spotted,” said Bradbury, who also played part-time for Cowes Sports in the Wessex League. “Living on the Isle of Wight, we didn’t get too many scouts over and there were no academies so it was difficult to get seen.

“The one time I did manage to get a trial was with Southampton when I got injured after 15 minutes and nothing came of it.

“I started with the junior Army team and went on to the senior team and the Combined Services. I was playing three or four games a week and it was great.

“The Army will push you all the way if you are good at a sport and that was brilliant for me. I wouldn’t be where I am today and wouldn’t have had my playing career if it hadn’t been for them.

“I received an honourable discharge so I could join Portsmouth. The Army looked at it that I was furthering my career and didn’t want to stand in my way because it was something I had always wanted to do.”

Asked what he could take from the Army into a career in football management, Bradbury replied: “Discipline is one of the major things they pride themselves on. It is a massive part of running any successful team or business. Organisational skills were also high on the agenda.

“If you are organised and disciplined, you have got a chance. And, if you have got a good team behind you, like we have here, you have got a great chance of being successful.”

Roach and Bradbury are both ambassadors for Help for Heroes, a charity formed to help those wounded in conflict.

“Lee played a few games for the senior team before he was spotted by Portsmouth,” said Roach, who was a physical training instructor at Tidworth. “He didn’t have a long career in the Army but would have gone through all the training which stands you in good stead for life.”