Wilson continues to prove point after too long in the wilderness

Wilson travelled far and wide putting his career back on track ?– playing football in England, Scotland, Wales, and even North America before finding a place to call home at Doncaster Rovers.

His next destination is Peru – but in hiking boots not football trainers. More on that later.

At 21, Wilson was on the verge of stardom.

Having played in both the Champions League and the Premier League, he was soon to make his debut for England Under-21s alongside John Terry, Wayne Bridge, Gareth Barry, and Owen Hargreaves no less.

When Middlesbrough paid 1.5m for his services in August, 2001, he had the perfect springboard to fulfil undoubted potential. Yet somewhere, somehow, it did not quite go to plan.

Wilson, 31, last played in the top flight nearly eight years ago but his return moves closer every time Rovers pick up three points and maintain their promotion push.

Saturday's postponed game against Barnsley, which fell victim to the weather, would have served as a reminder of his 'wilderness years' as the Tykes were one of the clubs who said 'thanks, but no thanks' to his services in 2006.

Wilson spent a week on trial at Oakwell after quitting Major League Soccer side FC Dallas and it was there that he realised his star was no longer in the ascendancy.

"Alarm bells started ringing as soon as the manager, Andy Ritchie, said 'where have you been for the last two years?' I guess I had been off the radar for a while and that told me it was going to be a lot harder than I thought," he recalled. "To make matters worse, Andy Ritchie didn't even know if his own job was safe and was called off the training field twice to see the chairman while I was there!

"I was grateful for the chance but when it didn't work out I tried my luck at Bradford City. That was another disappointment because the manager, Colin Todd, questioned my desire. The morning I left he asked me why I had gone to America? It sounded like someone else's opinion rather than his own because there was absolutely nothing wrong with my desire. I had come back to England to fight for a club and he was saying I 'may have lost a bit of my desire!'

"I didn't say too much about it at the time but, as things turned out, I then got a call from Richard O'Kelly (Doncaster's assistant manager) who had been my coach as a 12-15-year-old at Grimsby and the rest is history. I have spent the last four years at Doncaster and I have loved it."

Wilson helped Rovers win promotion to the Championship and is approaching 150 appearances as the club looks to make an even bigger step up to the Premier League.

His eyes have been opened by the methods of manager Sean O'Driscoll and his only regret is not knowing, at a younger age, what he knows now about playing the game.

"It might sound daft, having played for two Premier League clubs, but the gaffer's methods are the most forward-thinking I have come across," he said. "At Manchester United, they have better players but the coaching was always more about 'guidance' than meticulous planning. The tactical stuff we do here, the one-to-one discussions, the DVDs we have to study, has taught me how much time I spent doing nothing when I was younger! I have changed my whole perception of the game. You cannot just rely on 'ability' as a footballer, you have to understand what is required tactically, too, if you want to be consistent.

"If only I had this sort of help as a younger player, things might have gone differently," he reflected. "At Middlesbrough, I did have a few 'set-to's' with (manager) Steve McClaren. Maybe he could have talked to me more about the reasons why I wasn't in the side and what I needed to do to get in rather than arguing?"

Wilson spent four years at Middlesbrough and started only six league games. For the majority of that spell, he was the proverbial 'loan ranger', shipped out to Stoke City, Swansea City, Sheffield Wednesday, Doncaster, and Scottish club Livingstone.

"Every time a club came in, I was thinking 'Is this a new beginning?' But there were times, under certain managers, when I genuinely thought 'do I know more than them? Going to Livingstone was the final nail in the coffin," he admitted. "It was a club in disarray and nothing like what I was used to. I had been tempted by the idea of playing against Rangers and Celtic and getting that on my CV but, once those big games were out of the way, I was just thinking 'what am I doing here?'"

Released by Boro, Wilson, at 26, headed for the States and a new life with FC Dallas managed by the former Northern Ireland and Southampton striker Colin Clarke.

"I learned a great deal from the American attitude to sport, I enjoyed the 'soccer', and watched the Dallas Cowboys train. But it also gave me a kick up the backside and made me think, 'Hey, I am not done yet!'"

Now 31, there is still time for Wilson to grab another taste of the high life. He signed a new two-year deal with Rovers in the summer and has recently been tightening his grip on a regular first team spot.

"If we did go up and I got back to the Premier League after all this time, it would be just fantastic," he said. "This team is more than capable of winning promotion – but only if we are organised and disciplined and play consistently week after week."

Once the final ball of the season has been kicked, Wilson's main focus will switch to raising money for the NSPCC – a charity close to his heart.

Wilson, team-mates James Coppinger, Wayne Thomas and James O'Connor, and five other members of the Rovers staff plan to walk the 62 miles of the Inca trail at altitudes of over 12,000 feet in Peru.

"We are doing it to raise awareness for the NSPCC and Childline and to help raise funds for those vital services," he said.

Other events organised included a sold out 'Ladies Night' yesterday at Doncaster Racecourse – where various players were due to work as topless waiters. Anyone wanting to donate should visit www.justgiving.com/roversincatrek