but almost 30 years after making a name for himself at West Ham United, Clyde Best is still fondly remembered for the contribution he made.

In a four-page feature in the latest issue of Football Monthly under the headline "Never Second Best'', Best, now the Bermuda Football Association's director of coaching, shared his memories of his time with the `Hammers'.

The writer, Tony Evans, recalls how Best was one of the first black players to make an impact in the English game, and how he paved the way for others.

"I didn't see myself as breaking down any barriers, as such,'' Best was quoted as saying. "It's a complicated issue because I knew there were very few black professionals footballers and black people wanted me to do well and I wanted to do well for them.

"But I was just playing football, which is what I always wanted to do and I wasn't going to let anyone put me off doing that. After all, the ball doesn't know -- or care -- what colour you are.'' Best remembers arriving from Bermuda in 1969 as a 17-year-old on a cold Sunday and with no one from the club at the airport to meet him.

"I'd never been so cold and alone,'' he said. "If I'd had any cash I would have gone home.'' Once Best made contact with the club he found a warm welcome and he quickly settled in after taking up lodgings with the Charles family whose sons Clive and John, both black, were also on West Ham's books.

Best also spoke of his relationship with then manager Ron Greenwood which started warmly but had deteriorated by the time he left the club for the North American Soccer League after the 1975 FA Cup final, when he failed to even make the subs' bench.

That setback may have had something to do with the fact that Best had just taken on an agent, Jack Tanner.

"Ron was like a parent to me but he'd done enough,'' said Best. "It was time for me to grow up and find my own way. He didn't like that.

"He and Jack Tanner didn't get on and I was caught up in the middle. Things weren't the same between us after that.'' Best also shared his views on Bermuda soccer after returning home almost two years ago to take up his new post.

"There's so much talent here but it was an absolute mess,'' said Best. "All the Caribbean nationals and the North American teams have improved but in Bermuda the standard was far worse than when I left in 1969.

"Even so it's a goldmine for skill. The kids between 10 and 12 are as good as anywhere in the world. They've been getting overtaken by other contries because of the coaching so I've set up schools of excellence so they get the right grounding to develop properly.'' Added Best: "There are a lot of endemic problems -- we haven't even got a kit manufacturer's deal -- but with only 60,000 people on the Island they're easier to address than in, say, Britain.

"Once I've got the coaching sorted, we'll be able to compete at an international level.'' MAGAZINE NJ