For sportsmen or women who want to be champions, the mind can be as important, if not more important, than any other part of the body.

Something interesting has happened over the last 10 years in the Premier League. Players who once would have been discarded as expensive and too old have become important parts of title-winning squads.

Louis van Gaal is one of the most incredible coaches who's done a fantastic job in clubs all over Europe.

I developed a mechanism so that whatever mistakes I made, I would bounce straight back. Whatever was happening off the pitch, I could put it to one side and maintain my form. Call it mental resilience or a strong mind, but that is what we mean when we talk about experience in a football team.

A coach once told me there are four factors that determine a players' performance: his tactical awareness, his physical condition, his technical ability and his mental strength.

There are only four trophies available to win at the start of every season and there will be some big teams this year who won't win one at all.

The Premier League is the No1 league in the world in many areas. The events, the shocks, the production, the viewing figures, the worldwide audience are by far the best. Do I think at this moment in time it's got the highest quality levels in Europe in terms of Champions League football and domination of that area? In quality terms it needs to rise again to get to that point where it's by far the best in all areas.