Young fan club out behind Shrewsbury Town's Omar Beckles

Three years ago, after turning professional, he spent Sunday mornings on the Hackney Marshes and Wanstead Flats – two renowned hubs of youth football in London – coaching youngsters.

He coached Interwood at under-10s and under-11s. Even after turning pro with Aldershot he took the kids to experience Wembley and an England friendly against France. Dele Alli scored a fine goal.

This week the hugely likeable and humble London-born defender was named in the League One team of the season. No doubt catching the eye of talent-spotters at an even higher level, he is a long way from the Marshes and coaching in Sunday League.

Except one of Beckles’ chief motivations is to inspire those London youngsters he once taught how to dribble and pull off his dragback skill, now infamous among the Shrewsbury fans.

It is not unusual for players to take a gaggle of family and friends to a Wembley cup final.

Beckles smiles as he says: “Listen, in the past I’ve had to sort out tickets, this is just a headache. I’ve just had to send (website) links out.

“I can’t pinpoint how many people will be there. I genuinely reckon there’ll be well over 50. I’m saying touching 75.

“My team I coached in the past are coming down.

“When I was semi-pro and part-time I did a lot of coaching. I got my qualifications, my UEFA B licence and so on.

“I was doing my little ventures, I set up my FUTSAL business and I took on a Sunday league team, just for the love of it.

“It really grew, the passion for these kids and giving back. They’ve seen my progression. It’s been very crazy, surreal for them as well. Their coach is now playing at Wembley.

“It was only a few years ago I was literally coaching them on a Sunday at Hackney Marshes or wherever.”

Beckles, who revealed he was born into religion but had to find his own pathway to God, feels a responsibility to set an example and send out the right message.

He added:”It’s really empowering for them I feel. There’s a lot of pressure on them.

“They all want to be in academies now. It’s really good exposure to them to see that as long as they see it out and are consistent and persistent, they they can reap rewards in the end.”

Beckles’ rise bucks a trend. He did not graduate the academy way and is immensely proud of his roots.

There was heartbreak as he missed out as a youngster after leaving Millwall and the Glenn Hoddle Academy. Time away from football followed; soul-searching, religion, coaching, business, part-time football. An unglamorous rise through the non-league cycle to the star XI in League One.

It’s important, to him, to empower and inspire those youngsters. To show them you don’t need to play for Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham or West Ham as a 12-year-old.

It is not just the youngsters of Walthamstow that Beckles holds close to his heart. Again – this is no ordinary footballer.

The Hub365 Foundation. set up by the powerful and intellectual 26-year-old, is helping less privileged kids make their way in not just sport, but life.

This month they are focused on mental health. And Beckles, now living in Telford after his summer switch from Accrington, will take his project into the schools of Shropshire to get his important message across.

“I started the foundation work off the back of stuff like coaching and my FUTSAL work,” he said.

“Leaving them and turning pro was a little bit like ‘arghhhh’ because my love grew for the kids in what I was doing,

“But at the same time it just rekindled all that I was missing. There was a void that was empty and getting to the full-time game has definitely rekindled the passion I had for the game.

“When you get in that non-league cycle it’s hard to get out off. I definitely miss it but it’s all timing. I appreciate what it was, but now I’m embracing this short career and thereafter I’m sure I will go back into it.”