Matt's achievements within the game haven't gone unnoticed, pictured here with Luther Blissett

Tragedy in football has become a painfully recurring topic in recent months. Notts County chief scout Matt Alexander has endured his own fair share, losing his father Keith suddenly in March, 2010, at the age of 53 when he was manager of Macclesfield Town. Alex Lawson caught up with the league’s youngest chief scout to see how his dad’s drive has influenced him.

Matt Alexander is not a man with a bursting little black book for nothing. His affable personality has brought him success in a number of areas, picking up contacts like a downhill snowball.

Hired by the Football League’s oldest team in September after a short spell working under Peter Jackson at Bradford City, Matt has a CV which “you would think meant I can’t stick at anything”. In fact, there would appear to be few more dedicated men in football.

The 30-year-old regularly clocks in 19-hour days and “has been paid far more money to do far less” in other positions including FIFA-licensed football agent and fixing Apple Mac computers. Although perhaps this doesn’t extend to his first job – washing cars at his local Honda dealership in Boston aged 16.

“There is a bit of that but it just inspires me to work hard and prove to myself I can be successful as I know I have the contacts and knowledge to do it,” Matt explained when questioned about breaking the old boys club of football scouting.

“But, to be honest, there’s far more people I can learn from and just because they may not use email or newer technology, they know their football inside out.”

Matt, a man on a self-confessed mission to help drag County back up to the top tier through spotting youth, cites the likes of MK Dons talent spotter Paul Mitchell and Sheffield United’s Billy Dearden as mentors in the game, while Colchester’s chief scout Andy King is described as “the funniest person I’ve ever met, and someone I look up to and whose opinion is highly regarded”.

And few can doubt his work, fuelled by some good signings and deals, County are challenging near the top of League One and look capable of taking their play to the next level.

He is coy about his methods as a chief scout but does assert: “there’s not many young lads playing first team football in and around Nottinghamshire that I haven’t heard about, and I still want to know more,” and reveals that match reports are often completed at 3am to hit County boss Martin Allen’s desk when he arrives at the training ground the next morning.

“My plan is to build a network of contacts for Notts County that’s up there with some of the Premier League clubs’ – my contacts stretch Europe-wide into France, Germany and Italy in particular.”

The life of a scout involves clocking plenty of miles and taking in many live matches

Matt does not underestimate the challenge in spotting raw talent and says looking at a player’s background can be as important as any other factor. He studies their personality and character and looks at their family history, mental ability and location to ensure that any signing is a successful one.

Research has also proved key with his detailed match reports emanating from internet searches, speaking to coaches and watching players “at least three times” before recommending a signing.

But there’s one thing that does not go unspoken; the presence of Matt’s father in his life. On March 3, 2010 Keith Alexander died aged 53 the day after taking his Macclesfield side to County, leaving behind his son and a sport in mourning.

“My dad didn’t die seeing himself as a pioneer in football, he died as a League Two manager and I wish he could see how important to British football he was,” confided Matt, whose father was seen to break down the door when he became the league’s first permanent black manager.

“It’s still hard two years down the line, I get in the car and the first person I go to call is still my dad. I have great memories of dad, just going for a hot chocolate every Tuesday or driving to games with him always criticising my driving.

“I know my dad would be happy I’m still in football, even if he did always tell me to do what I’m good at - computers.”

Although, his father’s death has not brought his family – fragmented when his parents split when he was nine – together in the way Matt would’ve hoped, he still attributes his drive to succeed to his father, and is touchingly dedicated to his fiancée and daughter.

He is also candid about the modern game, having dabbled with being a football agent.

“I know some great agents,” he said. “But personally I do not have the ruthlessness and lack of boundaries that being an agent takes. Sometimes you have to make deals purely for your own gain, stitching someone else up and that does not sit well with my morals.

“I also don’t think footballers should be held up as role models, they’re young men just like any others and some have a lot of money they do not know what to do with, it’s a dangerous mix.

“Role models are people like Lincoln Moses MBE at Continental Star in Birmingham, people who do things to help underprivileged kids get into the sport for absolutely no financial gain to themselves.” 

But Matt is pleased with the work of his Gifted Sports Agency which has successfully secured boot deals for the likes for Arsenal’s Denilson and Emmanual Frimpong.

Matt is still finding his feet in scouting (“There’s one thing I don’t understand, why do scouts wear jackets with the club’s emblem on so everyone knows who they are and who they’re probably watching?”) but a renewed energy for, and focus on, life has left him a man on a mission.