Life is good for Newcastle Jets striker Chris Payne.
Life is good for Newcastle Jets striker Chris Payne.
Not only is he currently holding a position on Nikolai Topor-Stanley-s ‘up and coming talent- list, he is reveling in his newfound role of fatherhood after the birth of his first child – a healthy baby boy.
“I-m loving it, I wouldn-t change anything for the world, I-m so happy at the moment,” said the 20 year-old.
“He-s a little terror, he just doesn-t stop eating.”
Now with a young family to take care of, Payne says he has found a new approach to life.
“I-m looking at life differently. I realise there-s a lot more to life than just football. I-ve got to work hard and keep food on the table for the family,” Payne said.
This may be the case but it doesn-t stop Payne hoping that one day his son too will be a Jet.
Regardless of the future though, he certainly seems pleased with the present.
Talking to Payne away from the pitch, you soon realise football is never far from his thoughts. With a big year ahead, he says the squad is working overtime to kick off the season with a home game win.
“It-s going to be a massive year; I-m looking forward to it. I can-t wait for the season to start and hopefully we can kick of with a win for the first game. It-s a home game so it-ll be really good,” Payne added
And with Newcastle Jets memberships now exceeding the 5,000 mark, Payne says the players are encouraged about the response and ready to react to the energy generated from their vocal supporter base.
“The more fans we get the better we play and the more they cheer us on, the more we lift. Every single person who comes to watch helps us win.”
