Sheffield United: Former player swaps Bramall Lane for the building site

Indeed, after travelling to Bedfordshire to work on a project, he fell victim to a prank masterminded by a fan of his hometown club.

“I turned up at the site and this guy started shouting at me, saying ‘You’ve not done your induction. Get off, go away and don’t come back until you have.’ I thought he was going in a bit strong, because I had,” Starosta laughed. “Then he lined me up in front of everyone there and told me ‘I know who you are. You used to play for us.’ It turns out he was a Blade.”

Capped by Poland at under-20 level, Starosta turned professional with United in 2007 after progressing through their youth academy. After retiring from the game, following spells with the likes of Brentford, Bradford City, Lechia Gdansk and Global of the Philippines, he set-up his business dealing with commercial and private clients.

“I was always good at stuff like this, always enjoyed doing it even when I was playing,” Starosta said. “We do all sorts and can take care of pretty much anything; project management, property development, joinery, carpentry, commercial and private stuff like kitchens. It’s hard work, challenging and we go all over the country. But that’s what I love about it. We’ve got really good people too so there’s that teamwork aspect, just like football really.”

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