The first pair of boots I remember owning were Puma Spiders - I still have them in a cupboard at home! They were fantastic boots. I was nine-years-old and I scored about 70 goals with them in a season.

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.

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.

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.

If I wasn't a footballer, I would be a virgin

I' ve got quite narrow feet and they are size 12. I would sometimes get blisters when I was younger but fortunately I don t have much trouble with my feet nowadays.

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.