I was here at Spurs as a kid, too, and I cleaned David Ginola and David Howells boots. I got a nice tip of £60 from each of them at Christmas. Howells was quick to give me this but I had to ask Les Ferdinand to explain to Ginola about our boot etiquette and the tradition of tipping at Christmas. Everyone wanted to clean Les Ferdinand s boots because he was the best tipper. He gave out £100 one year.

My dad got me my first pair of boots. It was a big occasion for us to go to the shopping centre. It was an exciting time to make sure you got the right ones.

I wouldn't be here if I didn't believe I was good enough to be here and hopefully I can perform well for my club and try and get to the World Cup.

Playing for my country is the pinnacle of anyone's career. There's a major tournament coming up so I'm looking forward to being a part of that.

I usually wear moulded boots for training, but I mainly wear studs in matches unless it s really dry.

I've got my own targets... To establish myself in the team and once you are a regular for Liverpool then England, recognition comes from that and hopefully this will prove the case.

I'm confident enough to say I was better than my mates! But with the different competitions I did play with some good players, who didn't make it for whatever reason. I was lucky enough to be able to do what I love, and my mates have continued to play at a lower level and really enjoy it, I know that's exactly what I'd be doing if I wasn't here today.