Jill Scott: I looked up to Roy Keane & have no problem with any podcast banter

“I love it,” says Jill Scott, beaming ear to ear and laughing. It’s a reaction that few give when discussing their job, but one that is apt on this occasion.

The former Lioness really does have a job that most would give their right arm for, as she’s paid to sit and chat to football royalty. A regular on The Overlap, Scott has become well acquainted with Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Roy Keane et al, pundits who in their own right are forging a path that simply wasn’t available to ex-professionals even a decade ago.

If that’s true of ex-Premier League players, it’s certainly the case in the women’s game, despite its staggering developments over the last decade. A veteran of the game, when Scott hung up her boots - as a European champion, no less - in 2022 the landscape of women’s football had changed dramatically in the 18 years since she started.

Like so many of that 2022 England side, Scott is a trailblazer, whether she wants to admit it or not. Now she’s at the forefront of the rise in female experts in football media, a much-needed improvement throughout the industry. Karen Carney, Sue Smith and Izzy Christiansen have enjoyed similar experiences, but it’s Scott - the 2022 ‘Queen of the Jungle’, who has the most prominent role.

Just this week, she laughed off a crude joke from Keane, a clip that instantly went viral. “The lads take the mick out of me just as I take the mick out of them,” the former Manchester City and Everton midfielder told Manchester World mere hours after that latest podcast episode was recorded.

“I absolutely love it, I just feel like I laugh for the whole time I’m there. It’s literally like sitting down with your mates, having coffee and mini rolls, chatting about football. It’s like, ‘Is this work?’.

“I just feel like I knew them and they made it so easy for me. We’ve gelled and had a laugh about football.”

If there was any criticism of that Keane joke it certainly doesn’t come from Scott. “Look, when I was in the women’s game, in the changing rooms, we probably had worse banter than you see on the podcast.

“It’s not like we’re protected because we’re females. For me, it really suits my personality. I was always up for a laugh, as soon as I crossed that white line I was so serious as a player.

“I looked up to Roy Keane my whole life, he was my hero. I remember being an eight-year-old reading his autobiography. I do feel like we’ve become friends through the podcast.”

Jill Scott spoke to Manchester World at a CUPRA Pro Am Padel Tour 2024 event. For more information visit www.cupraofficial.co.uk.