HEREFORD United defender James Wall will swap the bleak British weather for the sun of the United States after joining Nashville Metros, writes Andy Holmes.

The deal, which is on a full-time basis, came to fruition after months of preparation. "I would've done some coaching last summer, but I broke my ankle during the previous English season", he said,

"In November I spoke to someone out there and he gave me the idea of actually playing in the States. I got a couple of contact numbers and had some very tentative chats with some managers before I was offered a contract in January.

"A few clubs came to watch me play at Hereford, and out of the three clubs that offered me a deal I opted for Nashville."

The twenty-year-old who joined United from Derby County in July 1999, flew out on Wednesday and is already looking forward to some very different training routines.

"We train at 7.30 in the morning because of the humidity. If we haven't got a game we'll sometimes do another session in the afternoon. We'll also be flying to get to some of the games."

Wall's first team opportunities have again been limited this year and he admits to being disappointed. "I am a little to be honest. I missed pre-season which is a massive blow to any player. My broken ankle cost me two and a half months and I wasn't fit to be selected until October. I've enjoyed it when I've played and I've done well."

Although football will never be the number one sport in the country the standard in the US has improved recently and Wall will be in illustrious company at Nashville.

"In our squad we've got Toto Scillachi who played for Italy in the 1990 World Cup and our captain started off with Everton and played a hundred games in the first division. It's an English club within America. The manager's English, the coach is English and there are quite a few English players. All in all it's quite a homely place to go to."