When a 17-year old Clyde Best stepped off the plane in London to begin what was to be a highly successful career at West Ham United, he could not have dreamt that he would come to be regarded as a pioneering figure in British football.

But 28 years later, Bermuda?s greatest player has been honoured by the Queen for the part he played in helping to undermine the culture of racism which was rampant in the British game in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Throughout his time in England, the striker was forced to endure an almost constant stream of abuse from the terraces and opposition managers simply because of his skin colour.

Monkey chants and hate mail were part and parcel of life as a black professional footballer in that era.

That he emerged from the years of hateful bigotry with his head held high and his footballing reputation enhanced, is a testament to Best?s inspirational character and ambition.

Speaking to yesterday, a modest Best made light of the difficulties he faced, suggesting that it was his utter devotion to the game he adored that sustained him first and foremost.

?A just wanted to play football,? he said.

?Racism was always there but as a professional you had to be bigger than that and concentrate on delivering performances on the pitch. I had a job to do and I just had to get on with it. It was obviously difficult at first when I was very young, but I learned how to deal with it as the seasons went by.?

Best was helped by West Ham?s own determination to pick players solely on the basis of ability.

Towards the end of the 197 season, in which the Bermudian powerhouse netted an impressive 23 goals, the East End team became the first English side ever to field three black players in a first XI ? Best, Clive Charles and Ade Coker.

And while in his early years, Best said he was oblivious to the impact he was having on the cultural fabric of British football, as he grew older he began to appreciate how important his involvement in the top-flight really was.

?I think when you are a young player embarking on a career as a professional, the only thing you are thinking about is making a success of yourself,? he said.

?The competition was pretty fierce, so at first I didn?t have much time to think about anything else. But as I matured and was more settled in the side I started to appreciate the impact I was having a little more. But I?ll never forget those memories of England. To come from a country so far away and to play with some of the best players in the world is an experience which stays with you for the rest of your life.?

Best played for West Ham between 1968 and and 1976, making 186 appearances and netting 47 goals. He played against and alongside some of the greats of the game over the course of a 13-year career, including England?s 1966 World Cup winning heroes Sir Bobby Moore and Sir Geoff Hurst at West Ham.

After he left his spiritual footballing home in 1976, Best plied his trade for several years for a number of different clubs in North America and came up against two of the finest players to ever kick a football ? George Best and the incomparable Pele.