I'd like to play for Newcastle United before I retire. The club is in my blood.

I don't know what I'd have become if I hadn't been a footballer; I wrote down 'dustbin man' on a careers questionnaire at school till my dad made me change it to 'joiner'.

As a kid I always wanted to be a centre-forward. I wanted the buzz and thrill of scoring goals from an early age.

No money in the world can buy a white England shirt.

It does not bother me that some say I'm dull and boring because the people that do know me will tell you a different story. It is very difficult to be open with people you don't know. There is nothing I can do about the fact that the real me does not get across and it is probably difficult to know the real me.

One accusation you can't throw at me is that I've always done my best.

You have to go out onto the pitch feeling good about yourself. That can give you that extra 30 per cent.