Ten years on from the horror injury that ended his playing career at just 21, CHRIS SUMPTER catches up with Peter Morrison to find out how the former Iron winger has managed to rebuild his working life around the sport he loves so much.

IT IS supposed to be a day for celebrating love and compassion.

But when Peter Morrison enjoys a romantic evening with fiancee Siobhan on Monday, as on every other Valentine's Day, a nagging, unwelcome memory remains.

Next week's anniversary will be more poignant than most.

It was February 14, 2001 when Morrison, a talented young winger who had dreams of one day playing in the Premier League, suffered the injury that was to eventually end his fledgling football career.

In action for the Iron's reserves, in his first full season of first-team football following his arrival from Bolton Wanderers the previous summer, the 20-year-old was the victim of a horror, two-footed tackle from Grimsby Town defender Ben Chapman.

It is fortunate the crowd watching was only 200 or so people, myself included, given that the sickening crack that echoed around Glanford Park is, even now, difficult to forget.

It was a challenge which left Morrison with a compound fracture to his left leg, just below his knee.

Chapman was red-carded for the tackle and the game abandoned.

Sadly for Morrison, after seven operations and more than 15 months of rehabilitation, so was the player's career.

It sparked the most turbulent period of the young midfielder's life, as he tried to rid himself of the 'bitterness' of his past to concentrate on his future, which now sees him a well- respected and fully qualified agent.

"I found it very, very difficult coming from such a structured background," Morrison explained of his release from Scunthorpe, less than 18 months after suffering the injury.

"I went straight from school into football with Bolton Wanderers, where everything was dictated to you.

"You knew what time you were in in a morning, what time you were eating and what time you were sleeping.

"Then, when I came to the end of my contract and I knew the circumstances that I wasn't going to be able to play again or train to a professional standard, it was a case of having to fend for myself.

"Not many people will appreciate how difficult that is when you are 21 or 22.

"I certainly feel that I didn't get the support from (Scunthorpe manager) Brian Laws at the time, though Russ Wilcox was fantastic.

"I’ll admit I struggled for the first few years. I didn’t have any direction or structure in place.

“I couldn’t forget what had happened for the first four or five years because litigation was ongoing.

“That meant there was always a reminder there when I wanted to put it to bed and move on in my life.”

The man who helped him do that more than most was ex-Iron boss  Nigel Adkins, United’s physiotherapist at the time.

Now recognised by much of the country for his positivity, the Southampton manager remains a key influence in Morrison’s life.

“It sounds really strange, but I never really considered that I might not play again,” he admitted.

“The big reason behind that was Nigel Adkins, who was so positive, a real man manager.

“I owe him so much, not just for keeping my spirits up at that time, but really for where I’ve got to today.

“I still speak to him and he offers me advice on a regular basis.

“Only in the past three years, since I started to become successful on this side of things, have I really let it go and now I’m totally at ease with it.

“I don’t mind talking about it and if I can offer anyone advice I will do.”

The chief benefactors of Morrison’s experience and advice are his clients.

After building up his own network of contacts and recruiting young players for various agencies, the 30-year-old now works for James Grant Sports Management, one of the UK’s top agencies with the likes of Jack Rodwell, John O’Shea, Clint 

Dempsey, Ryan Nelson and Ali Al Habsi on their books.

Clients are not just clients though, they also become friends.

When he gets married this summer, Nedum Onuoha will be the former Iron winger’s best man – a week after he has been the same for the Sunderland defender.

Being an agent is a job Morrison says he never dreamed of doing – and one he is quick to point out will never replace playing.

But slowly and surely, the former Bolton trainee has learned life after football can be just as rewarding.

“I don’t care what anyone says, nothing beats the feeling of playing on a pitch in front of a crowd,” continued Morrison, who was awarded more than £400,000 in compensation for his injury following a three-and-a-half-year legal battle.

“But I have to say, as time goes on and I’m bringing young players in and watching them go all the way through the system to play in the Premier League, I find the job satisfaction is not too far away from actually playing itself.

“There’s things I could have done differently, so I’m passing on my experience to younger players to help make them better people.

“I was the lad at school who didn’t try as hard as he could have done because he always thought he was going to go on and be a footballer.

“Since then, and from working on this side of the fence, you realise statistically that for every 10 young players that come into a club at 16, only one is still playing at 22 years old.

“Knowing what I know now, I probably wouldn’t have been as naive as I was when I was younger.

“One thing I do with all my players, when I’m negotiating a contract, is ensure there is injury insurance in there. Those kind of experiences benefit the players I represent.

“I had to start again, which was difficult.

 “Yes it’s the same industry, but it’s  like fighting a different fight. It’s a totally different side of the coin to playing. You have to gain respect.

“But the way you do things  – and your reputation – will inevitably get you to where you want to be.”

Monday’s 10-year anniversary of his injury comes just a week after Morrison watched an Iron home match for the first time since his release.

He was in the directors’ box for last Saturday’s Humber derby at Glanford Park, watching client Cameron Stewart help Hull City to a 5-1 victory.

It understandably proved an emotional occasion.

“It was strange coming back,” said Morrison.

“It kind of left me with mixed emotions really.

“I was saying earlier in the day to someone on Saturday, I certainly don’t regret coming to Scunthorpe.

“I regret obviously the outcome of it all, but I enjoyed the short period of time I was here. I just wish it could have ended more positively.

“I could never have envisaged where I am now though 10 years ago.

“If someone had have said when I left Scunthorpe that I was going to be dealing with the likes of David Moyes and Owen Coyle, I would have taken it with both hands.

“You are what you are and I’ve put a lot of work in to get where I am now, but I’ve still got ambitions for the future.

“I’m really happy with how it has turned out.”

With Morrison to guide them, numerous up-and-coming young footballers should be able to say the same.