SATURDAY PEOPLE: She's football crazy, she's football mad...but on match days Blackburn Rovers fan Val Eldridge has to plunge her hands deep in her pockets if the Blue-and-Whites score. She explains why to PAULINE HAWKINS

WITH three brothers who were all Rovers fans, it's not surprising that Val's interest in soccer started when she was barely old enough to kick a ball.

"I have been a Rovers fan since I was a child -- it's in-bred," she said.

But it's one thing to be a diehard fan who lives, breathes and sleeps Rovers and ends up on the verge of tears if they crash to defeat.

It's another to stand on the terraces in a luminous jacket, often with your back to the action, keeping an eye on the crowd as they endure the agonies and enjoy the ecstasies that 90 minutes of football can bring.

Val, a 39-year-old mum-of-two, is one of 450 stewards on the books at Ewood Park, about 35 per cent of whom are women.

She became interested in supporting the club in a different way after Rovers won the Premiership in 1995.

"My friend was a steward and asked me if I fancied doing the job. I had thought about it, but didn't know how to go about it," said Val, who lives in Blackburn.

So she contacted the club, filled in an application form and was invited along for an informal interview.

She was asked why she wanted to do the job and how she would react in given circumstances if she was stewarding at a match. Having been accepted, Val was given basic training before the start of the new season and during the year undertook six training modules covering fire-fighting, first aid, customer care and ground regulations.

Just as children are taught the three Rs, stewards gain experience in the three Fs -- how to be firm, fair and friendly.

She said: "I work with the away fans so you get a different mix of people at each match. You see some grown men in tears if their team loses but others just take it as a game, which is what it is.

"You get hugs and kisses and get the mickey taken out of you, but it is a really good laugh.

"I have never had any problems at all. The fans don't react any differently to women stewards -- you still get sworn at and then they usually apologise.

"Because I am a woman some of the fans keep an eye on me as well. There are other women stewards, but we are outnumbered. We can do the job as well as men. You don't have to be strong, just have the right attitude for the job." In her five years with the club, Val has had to use her first aid skills to tackle a few off-pitch problems, such as people passing out after drinking too much or collapsing with chest pains after getting too wound up watching their team.

But she has dealt with each case confidently, knowing that there is plenty of support on hand from trained volunteers of the St John Ambulance.

Val, who was voted Steward of the Year by her safety bosses at Ewood Park last year, was chosen for her reliability and efficiency in covering all areas of the ground.

Her interest and involvement with the club encouraged her brother, Chris Eccles, to become a steward. Her two other brothers, Nigel and Martin Eccles, prefer to be cheering Rovers on, with Nigel being the proud owner of a season ticket.

Val would recommend being a steward to other people with the right temperament. Stewards receive training and after completing their modules receive a certificate of competence. After three years they take an examination which qualifies them to be a steward at any ground in the country.

They have to be at the ground at least two hours before kick-off, and make sure everyone has left the ground safely, meaning a 90-minute game becomes a five-hour event.

But Val enjoys every minute, attending every home game and sometimes travelling to Rovers' away matches. She has not yet had the opportunity to travel to European matches, but would jump at the chance.

Her favourite player is Matt Jansen, and if she was Rovers' manager she would quickly sign up Dennis Wise of Chelsea and David Ginola, of Aston Villa.

She has seen Ginola play at Ewood Park and has a fond memory of the handsome Frenchman walking past her, but she didn't dare speak to him. Val often gets players' autographs, mostly for her sons, Kristopher, 19, and Marc, 16. Both are season ticket holders and back their team to the hilt. "I think they are proud of me being a steward," said Val. "They are just nuts about football and live, eat, drink and sleep Rovers."

Both sons arrived home somewhat hoarse after the Blackburn-Burnley derby match last Sunday which Rovers won 5-0.

Val said the atmosphere was electric."It was really well organised and well-policed," she said. "Of course the result was right but it was a struggle to keep my hands in my pockets and not to shout."

Anyone interested in becoming a steward should write to Rovers' deputy safety officer Steve Horlick at Ewood Park, Blackburn.