ENGLAND’S UEFA Nations League clash with Croatia might have been played “behind-closed-doors” last night but York City Futsal team’s assistant-manager Ben Mortlock had no problem obtaining an access-all-areas pass.

Mortlock, 32, has been a massage therapist for the national team since March 2017, meaning England third-choice keeper Nick Pope and Australia reserve left-back James Meredith were not the only ones boasting Minstermen connections at this summer’s World Cup.

The York St John University physiotherapy was a member of the Three Lions party that watched on closely from the sidelines, as the team exceeded all expectations by reaching the tournament’s semi-finals.

He also oversaw every training session in Russia and tended to some of the most expensive bodies in world football.

Having also massaged the likes of Usher, Lenny Henry and X-Factor celebrities in a previous job, though, he isn’t over-awed by the responsibility that comes with his current position, reasoning: “I’ve been in football for ten years.

“I started out at Grimsby as a sports therapist and have also done the same job at Spurs, Wolves, Hull and Barnet, so you get used to footballers and they’re generally good lads.”

Mortlock completed a sports therapy degree at the University of Teesside, before studying for a Masters in sport injury management and therapy at Sheffield Hallam University.

He landed his job as part of England boss Gareth Southgate’s backroom staff after responding to an FA website advertisement and filling in a bulky online application, before being invited for an interview, where he was also asked to demonstrate his work on a player.

Having reported for duty at St George’s Park earlier this week, where he will have undertaken the day-to-day management of any soft-tissue issues and applied pre or post-training treatments, Mortlock will have carried out the same role in Croatia before moving on with the squad to Spain for Monday night’s contest against the 2010 World Cup winners.

“All of the staff who are first-aid qualified also have to attend training sessions in case anything happens,” he added.

Reflecting on his first major tournament over the summer, meanwhile, one match stood out, in particular, for Mortlock – the rollercoaster last-16 contest with Colombia that was finally settled by Eric Dier’s penalty shoot-out decider.

“It was a dream come true working with England at a World Cup, being at the base camp and watching all the games from just behind the bench,” Mortlock admitted. “Gareth is a great bloke and I work closely with the medical team and the physical preparation team, who all make it brilliant to be part of that environment.

“The Colombia game was the highlight for sure, because you can’t recreate those emotions. There were so many ups and downs from being 1-0 up and then conceding in the last minute of normal time to then being behind on penalties before winning the shoot-out.

“It felt incredible and the celebrations were fantastic. Everybody was on the pitch.

“Then, you look up at all the England fans singing and it was all a bit surreal. You can’t really believe it’s happening.”

Mortlock is now into his second season coaching City’s FA Super League Futsal team, meanwhile, alongside team manager Junior Roberti.

The side narrowly avoided relegation in their first top-flight term, but Roberti’s assistant believes the club have the potential to do better in the current campaign, with a win and a defeat from their opening two matches.

“I think we’ll be OK,” he ventured. “We’ve got quite a good squad and seem to be getting more consistency in terms of training attendance.

“We’ve got some more experienced players and some very good young ones and it’s gone well so far, although it’s hard to know how strong the other teams are, because there’s always a massive turnover in players from one season to the next.”

Mortlock, who played football at Northern Counties East League level for Grimsby Borough, also has an international futsal pedigree, captaining and winning 65 caps for the England team, before suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury three years ago.

Prior to joining the York ranks, he played for Sheffield, London Helvecia and Loughborough University and now coaches the England under-19 team too, believing the profile and strength of the sport is growing all the time in this country.

“Nobody had heard of futsal when I first started working at Grimsby,” he confessed. “But a lot of the current England football team played it coming through the academy system and everybody is more aware of it now.

“Futsal is obviously nowhere near as big as football, but it’s still an amazing honour to represent your country in any discipline and, with the under-19s, I feel incredibly lucky and privileged to have represented my country in three different ways. Ten years ago, there wouldn’t have been an under-19 team in this country, but the sport is growing all the time now and we’ve got a great academy at York.”