Merseyside Football Reporter for The Daily Mail, Lewis Steele, 28, from Crewe, exclusively sat down with Crewe Nub News to talk about his exciting career covering Liverpool FC around the world.

What made you want to become a sports reporter?

When I was at university in Sheffield studying Law, one of my housemates was doing a journalism degree and I got to see a bit of what he was doing.

I thought what they were doing was quite interesting and in the second or third year I became unsure about a law career and started to think about journalism.

Knowing a few people who did a bit of writing for various websites about football, which I love and watch every weekend, I decided to get in touch with them and asked if I could write pieces for them.

Quite a few of them ignored me, but a few got back to me and I started writing for them for fun. I didn't get paid for it but It started me off.

After my Law degree finished, I did a masters degree in journalism and haven't looked back since. It all happened really quickly, but I have loved every day of it.

Tell us about your upbringing in Crewe

Lewis Steele studied at St Thomas More and South Cheshire College and lived in Crewe until he went to university in Sheffield (Supplied).

I grew up in Crewe and my parents have lived in the same house since before I was born, not too far from Crewe Alex.

I studied at St Thomas More and South Cheshire College and lived in Crewe until I went to university. I then moved to London when I got a job on The Daily Mail's Graduate Scheme straight after my masters.

Crewe has changed a lot in my lifetime. If you go into the town centre now it is pretty unrecognisable from when I was a kid.

I used to be a season ticket holder at Crewe Alexandra FC and still attend matches semi-regularly when I am free around work commitments.

If it doesn't clash with work I enjoy watching The Alex and aim to go between five and 10 matches a season.

I have very fond memories of growing up in the town and playing football around the area -as well as hanging around the haunts of Crewe with my mates.

Tell us about your role at The Daily Mail - what are your standout moments?

I had applied for as many sports journalism jobs I could find and there weren't too many. I think I got lucky with The Daily Mail as I had to get my application in by midnight - I sent it in at 11.30pm.

On the graduate scheme, I did a few roles in the office, including sub-editing for sport and going out to random football matches and press conferences whenever I could.

Sometimes I would pick up extra days, doing six days a week so I could get out to games.

Eventually a job role came up covering Liverpool FC and I didn't even consider applying for it as I thought it was a bit above my station.

But, the editor at the time encouraged me to go for it, basically offering me the job there and then and I went for it.

I started as The Daily Mail Merseyside Football Reporter in 2023 and I am on my third season covering Liverpool and Everton.

There is never a dull day covering those two clubs, with something always happening. Liverpool often play every three days too.

When you cover them home and away for example, you can get there train down to Bournemouth one day, get back at 2am, and then be ready for the club press conference in the morning.

Despite all that, it is really fun and doesn't even feel like a job. The amount of content you have to churn out is a lot but it doesn't feel like work because you are writing about something you are passionate about.

I went on the Liverpool's 2025 pre-season tour in Asia which was amazing. I also regularly interview the players. When you actually think about, it feels pretty surreal to be just following football for a living.

When you are in the work bubble you sort of forget how amazing this role really is, I can't even express how fun it is.

Liverpool FC captain, Virgil Van Dijk, gives Lewis Steele 10 to 15 minutes after every single game (Lewis Steele).

When the players and management actually get to know you as a person it feels pretty surreal.

There was a piece about Liverpool Head Coach, Arne Slot, I wrote about last year, which got reproduced in a Dutch paper that he reads every morning on his iPad.

He was giving me a bit of banter about it saying 'are you sure you should be writing that,' so it felt very matey which is nice when you have that rapport with them.

Covering the 2023 Champions League Final of Inter Milan versus Manchester City is a career highlight for me so far.

I have followed Liverpool to all these amazing places you could never even imagine going to, I often joke I speak to Virgil Van Dijk more than my family.

The Liverpool captain gives us 10 to 15 minutes after every single game which not many players do. You get to know them on a personal level and they have a lot of banter with you, like on player ratings. There are just so many standout moments.

You have over 50k followers on X (Twitter) what is your advice to people wanting to grow their following?

One way people can expand their audiences is by making them feel engaged and making them feel involved with things like Q&As.

Those pieces tend to be my best read of the week, or some of the best read.

A lot of sports journalists often just put out the news and that will be it. I try to take people inside the story with anecdotes and lightheartedness.

At the end of the day, football is a hobby and I try not to make my writing style too serious. Covering a team like Liverpool does obviously help with engagement but they are still good steps to follow.

What is your advice to anyone wanting to be a journalist/sports reporter?

I often go back to my old unversity in Sheffield for talks and encourage people to throw themselves out there, doing as much work experience as they can.

There you can gain so many contacts. People may also remember your face, putting you ahead of other candidates when you apply for a job.

At the start of your career, say yes to everything. There is no bad opportunity. If you don't like it fair enough, but you get the experience then.

Something I am learning now when I am more experienced is to say no to some things. But, it is great to do all the things at the start to get your skills, specialist areas and contacts up.

I encourage people to do a personal blog or video stuff. Stat padding your CV is vital. When you sit infront of an employer or go to an interview you can show how you demonstrated your skills.

By going out there and doing as much journalism as you can, that is what will help your career.

READ MORE: Crewe Engineering & Design UTC: Q&A with Principal Will Chitty.

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