"I wanted to integrate into the community and I had already decided a good way of doing that would be to go along to the local football club and learn more. I didn`t want to breeze in and say to people 'look at me I`m an ex-pro' and 'piggy-back' on that. I'm a private person and didn`t want that kind of privileged start. I just wanted to train and keep fit".
But the local team, Olympique Coux et Bigaroque beat him to it and after being invited to train with them he ended up in the side but was unable to prevent their relegation. The following season, with, as David puts it, `"professional organisation, training and a few new, good, players, we won the championship of the Dordogne."
Meanwhile the family settled well and fortunately there weren`t too many obstacles to the acclimatisation process.
"I think most people who start a new life abroad encounter situations that lead them to think 'what are we doing here'" says Jackie. "But we had no such problems. David had his football, the children were at school and meeting up with and talking to local parents helped immensely in us settling in to the local community."
The process was helped by the continual work schedule they had to carry out on their farmhouse because David and Jackie put something back into the community, a tangible contribution to the local economy, as Jackie explained:
"Rather than use English tradesmen we made a point of employing local French
David, top left (red) playing for Liverpool at the 25th Anniversary of Hillsborough Match