MICKEY Heathcote, oldest swinger in town and among the more venerable centre halves, was relaxing after a Saturday night out. "I'm the disco dancing king of Dundee," he said. These pre-season tours can be hell.

Mickey, 36 in September, is the North-East lad who went west, found a home from Home Park and abundant admirers at the Argyle.

A week tonight Peter Reid's Sunderland, among his former clubs, play at Plymouth in his all ticket benefit match with his son Liam, 12, and six-year-old daughter Sophie as mascots.

"I know I've only been here six years," said the ever-admirable Heathcote, "but I think they're probably quite fond of me."

Born at Kelloe, near Durham, he was released by Middlesbrough during the troubled mid-eighties - "one of many, I'm afraid" - and signed for Spennymoor United, then in the Northern League. Brian "Rocky" Hudson, his uncle, had himself been familiar at the Moors; Mickey no less admired.

This summer, indeed, United chairman Barrie Hindmarch rang to see how he was fixed at Plymouth - "it wasn't a job offer, just a chat, but I've always looked out for Spennymoor and last season was awful for them. They seemed to be on nine points for ever."

He was at the Brewery Field in 1987 when Bob Stokoe, then scouting for Sunderland, asked Northern League representative team manager Stan Bradley who he thought the league's best player.

"Mickey Heathcote by a mile," said Stan. Sunderland paid £15,000, but he made just nine first team appearances - interrupted in 1988 by a serious spinal operation that meant a year out of the game. "Horrific, absolute hell," he said.

After loan spells at Halifax and York City, Shrewsbury signed him for £55,000. A year later Cambridge United manager John Beck - pouring cold water over his players and still worse upon the opposition - spent £150,000 to build his defence around the 6ft 2in Heathcote.

Briefly, they topped the old second division. "People might call the manager eccentric, but look where he's got us in so short a time," he'd told Backtrack.

Out of contract four years later, he was signed "out of the blue" by Argyle boss Neil Warnock. "My wife Loretta is from Bowburn and we'd really hoped to move somewhere a bit nearer home. Instead we moved as far away as we could possibly get.

"It's a beautiful part of the country and we love it, the only problem is that we sometimes feel a bit cut off. There are foreign countries closer to Kelloe than Plymouth is."

For five seasons he hardly missed a match. In May last year, however, he underwent a routine hernia operation which went wrong. An attempted comeback ended at Halifax two days before Christmas. "I was banged up with anti-inflammatories. My performance that day was so poor, they should have buried me at The Shay. There was an obvious question mark over whether I could continue at my age."

Now, however, he hopes that further surgery by one of Britain's top consultants may lead to a final season in full time football.

"I'm out of contract, but I'm hoping for another, then I think the old body will have been waving the white flag long enough."

Already he's taken the UEFA "B" coaching badge - on the same course as Ossie Ardiles - and hopes there may be a future in the game.

They're in Scotland until Sunday, the old legs - and various other bits - bearing up well. And disco dancing in Dundee? "Just part of my fitness regime, that's all."

MARK Davies, Durham's 4-13 hero in Sunday's win over Sussex, had further cause for celebration before the evening was much older.

A swift shower, a word with the prerequisite press box and the 20-year-old was scampering south to Wolviston - playing Northumberland side Kirkley in the last 16 of the National Village Cup.

Stan Adamson, his grandfather, is a long time former Wolviston second team skipper who still helps look after the ground; his uncle Paul Adamson, formerly with Middlesbrough and Yorkshire II, now plays for the Wolves.

Seven down for 130 with only eight of their 40 overs remaining, the home side biffed on to 180. Kirkley were 50-0 before subsiding - chiefly to Geoff Blackett, George Sayers and two direct run outs - to 103. Mark, who learned his cricket at nearby Norton, made it in time for the ecstatic last act.

Four times unsuccessful quarter-finalists, Wolviston travel to Streethouses - near Pontefract - hoping that August 5 may prove fifth time lucky. Durham are the same day at Kidderminster in the championship. Young Davies, if selected for his first class debut, may have to be even quicker off the mark than usual.

BARELY a big hit away, the column looked into Norton and Stockton Ancients' junior football festival on Sunday - a magnificently organised occasion with 104 teams on 17 pitches.

Among 1,000 players from as far afield as Essex were nine-year-old triplets Victoria, Olivia and Charles Inman - all representing Norton. A unique threesome, perhaps?

"I've never even encouraged them. The girls are just as daft about football as Charles is," said Paul, their dad. Only Charles, however, had the Nike logo shaved on the back of his head - and with no fear of parental ticking off. "It's just the fashion," said dad.

In loco parentis also, the Ancients hope that the hugely successful festival will help generate interest in the senior Albany Northern League side. On Sunday's evidence, they richly deserve it.

RON Harvey, secretary of the ABA's north-eastern division for the past 22 years, is joining the fight to put a roof over Shildon Boxing Club's head. "They've always had something about them, a credit to our division, and it would be a great tragedy if they had to fold," says Ron.

Nomads for 20 years, the enormously successful club is finally on the streets - and, as the column reported on Friday, with England appearances just three weeks away.

TOMMY Miller, back at Ipswich Town seven years after they said he was too small for the big time, has added a little bonus to the near £1m transfer pot as a going away present to Hartlepool United.

A week before Town's new strip becomes available to the public, the shirt off Portman Road's back has gone up - signed, framed and gratefully inscribed - in Pool's Victoria Lounge. Another will be presented to the supporters' club.

"He was photographed with the new shirt at the press conference," says Tommy senior, Pool's chief scout. "George Burley, the Ipswich manager, said if one or two found their way into my bag, he'd no idea how they got there."

Away from home for the first time Tommy, 22, is staying in the same hotel as all Ipswich's Premiership visitors except Manchester United, who prefer something different.

Homesick? "So long as there's someone to do his washing," says dad, "our Tommy will be content."

WORLD widely read, John Briggs from Darlington sends details of an Old Bailey court case last week in which a former Turkish footballer accused of drug smuggling was asked if he'd ever played with Pele.

"Who's Pele?" asked 68-year-old Judge Hubert Dunn - Recreations: travel and literature.

"He is the second best footballer in the world, your Honour," replied Mr Anthony Jennings QC (who believed George Best to be the best,)

This should not be confused, of course, with the judge who thought that Paul Gascoigne - Gazza - was an Italian operetta.

THE two Welsh footballers who scored in the European Cup Winners Cup in the 1990s (Backtrack July 20) were Mark Hughes (Manchester United) and John Hartson of Arsenal.

Steve Wilson, Tranmere Rovers' personal representative in Darlington, today seeks the identity of the North-East born footballer who within the space of seven first team games appeared in all four divisions of the Football League.

The answer on Friday - but Eric Nixon wasn't born in the North-East.

Published: Tuesday, July 24, 2001