Troy Deeney ready for surprise career change thanks to ‘nasty’ Watford players… and Christina Aguilera

Troy Deeney couldn’t help but laugh as he recalled the path that led him to compete in the UK Open Pool Championship.

The Watford legend shocked fans by announcing he would swap football pitches for snooker halls by taking part in the World Nineball Tour ranking event in Telford last May.

Deeney played snooker religiously throughout his life, having his own table in his house and practicing on practice grounds, particularly during his 11 years at Vicarage Road.

But while the 35-year-old didn’t really expect his next step after leaving Forest Green would involve picking up a pool cue in a competitive event, he has plenty of experience in the practicing this sport under pressure.

That’s thanks to some cheeky antics from former Watford teammates Ben Foster and Craig Cathcart.

“Don’t let Ben’s YouTube channel fool you,” Deeney laughed while speaking to talkSPORT.com. “He’s a nice guy over there but he’s a really mean man, especially to me.”

The former Watford captain remembers being hit on the back of the head by grapes, nuts and even being punched by his mates as he tried to show off his snooker skills on the training ground.

“Those two gave me the best match, that’s the thing, they were really good,” he said. “They didn’t need to cheat! Etienne Capoue was good too to be fair!

“Football players are not bad (at pool). You have good hand-eye coordination, so you can see what you want to do, you just have to execute it.”

Now, with fewer fruit-related distractions, Deeney began preparing for next month’s tournament, starting by taking on talkSPORT’s resident pool enthusiast Andy Goldstein in a “tune-up” match at the Moretown Beautiful in East London.

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The Drivetime host – and former school friend of snooker legend Ronnie O’Sullivan – eventually beat the former Premier League striker 5-1, as he also prepared for his own competitive event in pool which would take place later this year.

“The score wasn’t reflective, it suggests I had a body part handed to me,” Deeney joked after the match. “The problem is, because I made an incredible shot, it would be considered a fluke, but it wasn’t.

“But to be honest, he had a whole childhood to play, which is unreal.”

Immersed in the world of snooker, Deeney has now also been given a snooker nickname, chosen by the show’s listeners Hawksbee and Jacobs.

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His chosen alter ego? Troy ‘The Genius’ Deeney. Fortunately for the Watford legend, Goldstein’s idea of ​​’Teeny Deeney’ was not adopted.

So what exit music would be more appropriate for Deeney in Telford than Christina Aguilera’s 1999 hit, “Genie in a Bottle”?

And even though he still has a month of intense training left for pool matches, he may be overprepared for his release time.

“I think (my nickname) fits my philosophy and who I am!” he smiled. “Christina Aguilera having fun, it often happened in my car!”

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Deeney is yet to find out who he will face in Telford, but the excitement over his introduction to the world of competitive snooker has already got fans excited.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” Deeney continued. “I’m the type of person who says ‘why not, why not try something new’.

“Since it’s a wild card (for the competition), people are now turning to snooker, even if it’s one more person. I know we’ve had a good reaction.

“Now we have more eyes and ears and the world number 1 has called out to me! He won’t want to be the guy who loses to a professional footballer!

“But I just want to highlight this sport.”

And as his nickname suggests, he can now make that wish come true.