Sportingpost.com has spoken exclusively to Reading manager, and Premier League legend Paul Ince to get his view on the last weekend’s fixtures. The former midfielder detailed how Jack Grealish has impressed him, why there should be more protection for managers in the wake of the axing of Potter and Rodgers, along with what it was like being the first Black player to captain England.
Haaland isn't all Man City have to offer!
Sporting Post: Manchester City were very convincing in their 4-1 victory against Liverpool. Just how impressed were you?
Paul Ince: It was very late on that it became clear that Haaland wasn't going to play, so I really wondered how they’d get on against this Liverpool team. It doesn't matter what Liverpool team you face, whether they are in form or out of form, it’s still a very, very good team. So to see how Man City would cope without Haaland was always going to be interesting. When Haaland plays, they play a different way to when Aguero was playing and when Jesus was playing. It’s still effective and the goals that Haaland scores says it all.
I think had Haaland been playing, he probably would have got three three or four because they were just amazing.
Saying that, Liverpool went one up and then had a great chance through Mo Salah. If it’s not for Jack Grealish they would have gone 2-0 up. Football is all about moments and if Liverpool go 2-0 it’s a tough day for Man City. But once they scored, then it became a tough game for Liverpool and that's probably one of the best performances I've seen this year from Manchester City. Everyone goes on about Haaland, but Haaland isn't all Man City have to offer! When you look at Gundogan and someone like Jack Grealish who looks like he's really settled in, they have such quality. Kevin de Bruyne is one of the best players in the world. Haaland is a goalscorer so when he scores everyone talks about him, but Saturday wasn’t about him it was about the whole team and a team performance.
SP: On Grealish, he has received a lot of praise for recent performances, are you pleased to see him show this quality? It’s taken until the second season to perhaps show this top level.
PI: Think about Raheem Sterling - when he first went to Manchester City, like a lot of players when they first play under Pep, it takes time to understand what the manager wants. But he improves all these players to an amazing level. We've seen that in so many players that have gone to Manchester City, but it doesn't happen overnight. What you've seen with the likes of Sterling and Foden, Mahrez and now Grealish in his second year, is that he’s really got to grips what's required from Pep, what's required from his teammates, and most importantly what’s required from himself to be a huge part of one of the biggest clubs in Europe.
Jack has always been a very talented player, we saw that at Villa. But at Aston Villa he was a big fish - he was the main man at Aston Villa. He's come into a team there where he's not the main man. There's a collective group of top players, and that takes time to adjust to. But now you need to look at the way he’s playing, he’s scoring so many goals, he’s creating, and he’s doing all the right things.
That typifies where his mindset is at the moment - he's running back 50-60 yards to stop Liverpool scoring, he is making tackles and if you've got all that, coupled with his ability, it’s dangerous for the opposition teams. He's playing really, really well and I hope he continues because if he's playing well then it's good for England.
Disagrees with Micah Richards on Klopp being ‘too loyal’
SP: From a Liverpool point of view, Van Dijk said that the players would have to tell each other some hard truths ahead of playing Chelsea in midweek. What sort of thing do you think they'd be saying to each other? How do they bounce back? They’re eight points off the Champions League spots.
PI: Not a lot of people expected Liverpool to be where they are, but they've had a lot of injuries. There's been a lot of chopping and changing and they lost Mane in the summer. You also have to take into consideration that they've gone toe to toe with Manchester City for the last four or five years. They’ve had the same players, with the same intensity, the same tempo, the same demands.
It's been a tough four or five years and there is going to be an inevitable dip. I think when you look at the 7-0 against Manchester United, people thought “Liverpool are back”, “they're back to their best”. But it doesn't always work that way. I think Liverpool are going through a rebuilding process at the moment and I think we will see the best of them next season.
It's going to be tough to make the top four, with Newcastle, United and Tottenham leading this race. Normally you expect to see Liverpool up there, but due to unfortunate circumstances, or lack of form, which happens to every team, they are not. Eight points could be caught up with 10 games to go and if anyone can do it, Liverpool can. I wouldn’t count them out just yet, but it’s going to be tough.
SP: Micah Richards in his column in the Mail wrote about Klopp being “too loyal to some of the men who have been with him throughout and a little too slow in refreshing”. What do you think?
PI: I’m not so sure. Klopp’s been absolutely amazing for Liverpool. It's tough when you think about what he's brought to the city, what he's brought to the fans, to the people of Liverpool. It's been an unbelievable journey.
Sir Alex Ferguson was so great because he knew when he had to try and change players, and bring in other players. To oversee the transition from the older generation to the new generation. There was always one or two players that had to be changed.
Klopp knows that he needs to rebuild, but it doesn't mean that the likes of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho can't do a good job at Liverpool. I don’t think Klopp’s that way - where he’ll want to stay loyal to players for the sake of it. I think Klopp knows what he wants and at the moment he's not getting it and he'd be disappointed with the form at the moment. At the end of the day they’ve still got a chance and we have to see what happens.
SP: Liverpool have got Chelsea midweek then they’ve got Arsenal coming to Anfield next Sunday. Two big games if they are to claw back these eight points.
PI: I wouldn't put it past them. Chelsea have just lost their manager, which is a tough one to take especially 10 games before the end of the season - it doesn’t sit well with me.
Potter came from Brighton, where he’d done ever so well, but needed time at a big club like Chelsea. The noise was that it was going to be a project and that’s not been the case. They’re still in the Champions league which has to now be the priority and he has done very well and now they face Real Madrid. I’m not sure the timing was right and it happens too often.
Brendan Rodgers also going with 10 games to go is sad to see with them both being British managers, and you want as many British managers in the league as possible.
For Liverpool, they will go to Chelsea and think they have a chance. There will be a reaction, you’d think, from the Chelsea players and the fans with the manager going. It’ll be a tough game going to the Bridge.
As for Arsenal’s visit to Anfield, well we know how well Arsenal are playing, they’re absolutely flying. But Manchester United went to Liverpool and we saw what happened there. Anfield is a daunting place to go and the Liverpool fans will be up for it. It doesn’t matter where they are in the league, how they’re playing, the Liverpool fans will be up for it, that’s for sure.
I have always had this thing that players get protected, but there is no protection for managers. I think there should be more protection for managers and they should only be allowed to be sacked and brought in at certain times, like the transfer window for players. It’s not just about the individual managing the club, it’s also about moving your family around, finding schools, nurseries, and then you can just lose your job in seven months. I get that is part of being a manager, but there has to be more protection.
Graham Potter and Brendan Rodgers sacking: I think there should be more protection for managers
SP: On Graham Potter, what do you think of that sacking after such a short period? What does it say about the tenure of Todd Boehly so far at Chelsea?
PI: I think when you have a look at the Chelsea model, under Abramovich it was always: get a World Class manager in for two years or so, win the League, maybe the Champions League. That’s always been their model, from Mourinho, to Ancelotti to Conte, it’s always been that way, and it’s worked!
When you hear people say it’s a young manager, he’s still learning and he’s come into a situation where the club is changing… you feel he’s going to get that time in the job. Even when he didn’t start too well the owners came out and supported him. He’s gone into a really tough job where there are so many players, I think they spent over £300 million on players.
As a manager myself, to think about managing 28 or 30 players is almost impossible, let alone 25 superstars! You can’t possibly keep all the players happy. You’ve got players who are in the Champions League squad yet who aren’t in the Premier League squad, and vice versa. For me that’s not an organised situation and to put Graham Potter in that situation was always going to be difficult for him.
Like any manager we know if the results aren’t good we’re going to lose our job. Sometimes it’s justified, sometimes it’s not. But I think this year was always going to be a tough year. When you go back to even the great Sir Alex, the first couple years for any manager are tough and you have to go through those times. It doesn’t seem so long ago that some Arsenal fans were asking for Arteta to leave but the board said no and look where they are now. Sometimes it takes someone brave to say “no, I have faith and my trust in him”.
Yes Chelsea aren’t in the Top Four and they aren’t going to make the Top Four, ultimately they are still in the Champions League and the realisation that they aren’t going to make the Top Four was probably made 4-6 weeks ago and nothing has changed.
I get they lost to Villa but the most important thing for Chelsea is the Champions League which they have a chance in. Graham Potter has been a part of that, so why would you relieve him of his duties? I don’t get it. It’s another English manager who has left his job when I felt he should’ve been given a lot more time than he was.
I have always had this thing that players get protected, but there is no protection for managers. I think there should be more protection for managers and they should only be allowed to be sacked and brought in at certain times, like the transfer window for players. It’s not just about the individual managing the club, it’s also about moving your family around, finding schools, nurseries, and then you can just lose your job in seven months. I get that is part of being a manager, but there has to be more protection.
Looking at it now, a lot of Chelsea players will be shocked by the timing of it. It was a great opportunity for Graham Potter, it’s something he couldn’t turn down. I remember going to Blackburn when they were in the Premier League and thinking if may be too soon for me, I hadn’t earnt my stripes yet and I’d just gone from Macclesfield to MK Dons so I wasn’t really ready for that but you can’t turn it down and I think it’s similar with Potter.
He did great at Swansea and then at Brighton, and you can’t turn these jobs down but you need help and you need protection. I think bringing in so many players at such big fees, also similar players to what they already have and trying to control them and keep them on board was such a difficult situation. If you have players who cost £50-£60million and they can’t get in the side, it becomes a problem. These players want to play and it all falls down to the manager but it’s not always down to them.
But Potter is a top manager and a top guy. He’s already been talked about going somewhere else so hopefully that’ll happen.
SP: He’s actually favourite for the Leicester job with the bookmakers at the time of speaking. What do you think period at Chelsea has done to his stock?
PI: I don’t think Potter’s stock has diminished in any way. If you look at this situation from a manager's point of view, and you see what he’s had to deal with. Things don’t happen overnight and sometimes it takes time to get your ideas across. He would have learnt a lot, not many managers get the chance to manage Chelsea and there will be things he’d have learnt going from Brighton to Chelsea.
Brighton looks like a club where they all stick together and there aren’t any egos flying about. Sometimes when you go to bigger clubs you get bigger players with bigger egos and that’s what you get when you go to Chelsea or Manchester United. They’re all big superstars with big egos and big opinions and it’s how you deal with that and bring them together on the Saturday.
I’m sure he would have learnt what he’d do differently and he’ll be disappointed to have lost his job, but as soon as you can get back on the bike, that’ll be the best for him because he’s a top class manager.
SP: And Brendan Rodgers, what next for him? He’s had such success with Leicester with the FA Cup win and two 5th place finishes. What do you feel is next for him?
PI: I don’t feel he has been supported enough. A number of those players have been there for a long time and when you’re in the Premier League you have to keep moving forward. If you’re staying still you’re going to struggle. From a financial point of view I’m not sure if he got the players he wanted, but saying that, you look at their team and they should have enough with the likes of Iheanacho, Vardy, Maddison.
But it’s tough because once you get into that rut - it’s so hard to get out of. We’ve seen Vardy hasn’t played as much this season and he is getting to that age where he’s not what he was. A key man in Tielemans hasn’t played that much, is in the last year of his contract and there were a lot of rumours about his future. A lot of their ‘big’ players haven’t played as much but you still look at their squad and think “wow they shouldn’t be where they are”. They had a big game against Palace and you know you’ve got to win it or most certainly not lose it and if you do… perhaps he half expected the axe to fall.
Palace scored in the 94th minute and that changed the whole complex of everything. If they had got a draw I feel he probably would have stayed in the job and goes into the Villa game midweek and the whole landscape changes. But that injury time goal changes the whole dynamic of how people are thinking.
It’s another really good British manager out of a job. But he’s too good to not get another job, he won’t be waiting around too long.
The title race: I would rather be in Arsenal’s shoes right now
SP: Arsenal beat Leeds 4-1 convincingly. How do you assess the title race?
PI: When it was my time and it was between us (Man U) and Newcastle or us and Villa, you’ve got that lead and you think you’re comfortable but then all it takes is to lose one game and your challenger wins and suddenly an eight points can soon turn into two. Arsenal still have to go to the Etihad as well of course which is the biggest of fixtures.
But for me you’d rather be leading and so I would rather be in Arsenal’s shoes right now.
The Bournemouth game was massive. Going 2-0 down and winning 3-2, that’s the sign of champions. City would have been looking thinking this was their chance, but it kills you when you see your challenger come back and win.
There’s going to be lots of ups and downs but Arsenal have that 8 point cushion (although City have a game in hand) and Arsenal have to go to the Etihad, but there’s going to be games where you think they will each have easy wins, but it won’t be the case.
Arsenal next week have to go to Anfield, that isn’t going to be easy. They’ll be playing teams who will be fighting for their lives to stay in the League, there is always going to be some type of story. So many things can happen in 10 games, someone can get sent off, an unfair penalty decision, but that’s what makes it so exciting.
Arsenal have been brilliant this year. I’ve loved watching them play, I’ve loved watching Saka. They’re a young team and they’re learning. They’ve got Jesus back who’s a massive plus for them. It’s like having a new player at a vital part of the season.
I think it’s going to be tight, it won’t be a foregone conclusion. Arsenal have that cushion at the moment and I can’t really see them losing, but we’ve been here before with City and we know what they’re capable of and you can never write them off.
This is not the Manchester United of old
SP: Coming on to your former club Manchester United, they got beat 2-0 at Newcastle and Newcastle have gone above them. Many feel it’s two from three to make the Top Four of Newcastle, Spurs and United 4. What did you make of United yesterday and their Top Four hopes?
PI: I think Ten Hag was rightly very disappointed with the performance. They have had a lot of accolades this year and many pundits saying Ten Hag has done a wonderful job in a short space of time. Of course he’s spent a lot of money and you can see the impact he’s had on these United players, the club and the owners. We were saying at the start of the season that if they had a couple of chances at a trophy and finished in the Champions League spots that would be a very good season.
I don’t think people are giving Newcastle enough credit. Is it really a big surprise Newcastle beat them 2-0 given where Newcastle are in the table? The fans are unbelievable, the atmosphere is electric. Going away there is very tough and from the first minute they stamped their authority on the game.
This is not the Manchester United of old, it’s a Manchester United team that is growing and I don’t think Newcastle got enough credit for their performance, how Eddie Howe set his team out, the intensity, the wingers, everything was perfect from Eddie. Everyone is talking about Manchester United and what’s gone wrong there, but nothing has gone wrong, I just think it’s one of those where they’re not quite there yet.
This is a different Newcastle from a few years ago and Ten Hag will know that. Tottenham now don’t have a permanent manager, Liverpool are not where you’d expect, there’s a lot to fight for. You have to be winning those matches if you want to be where Manchester United want to be, but there’s a long, long way to go. You always learn a lot from matches like those. United have struggled away to the top sides and that’s something Ten Hag will be looking to rectify next season.
SP: United only had one shot on target yesterday which is disappointing. Do you think they'll regret not strengthening more in January? A lot has been made of Weghorst not being the answer and more of a stop-gap for what Manchester United need. Could they have done more in the window?
PI: Every manager wants to do more in the window. Every manager wants to bring in more players. Sometimes it’s not doable, sometimes you can’t get the players you want in January because clubs aren’t letting them go. Maybe Weghorst was one of a few options for him given the ability to bring him in on loan. When you look at his time at Burnley he didn’t score a lot of goals and you look at his performances he isn’t an out-and-out goalscorer. He’s had many good chances where he could have scored and that tells me he’s not an out-and-out goalscorer, he’s not a Harry Kane or a Ronaldo, he’s not prolific.
He comes short, he holds it up and links well with the midfield. That’s why it’s been so important that Rashford has been so good with his goals. If you take Marcus out the game like Newcastle did, then Manchester United struggle to score goals or create goals.
If you look at last year the amount of goals Bruno Fernandes scored, this year there aren’t a lot of goal scorers in the team. Their reliance on Rashford is there to see and I’m sure Ten Hag will want others to contribute, such as Anthony, Sancho, Martial. I think it’s tough but as it’s going along Ten Hag is finding out where he wants to be, what needs to change, what doesn’t need to change.
It’s all a learning curve for Ten Hag this season and it does take time. I’m just pleased that they’re now competing where they should be. Competing for trophies, for Champions League places. Are they ready to win the title? No. Will they be in a year or two? They’ll be a lot closer than they are now that’s for sure.
SP: United are 22 points off Arsenal right now, it doesn’t seem that long ago had they gone to the Emirates and if they’d won they may have been in a title race. Do you think they are still a few years away from a title challenge?
PI: In the next year or so, Chelsea are going to get stronger, Tottenham also. All these teams are trying to invest to compete to get in the Champions League and win the Premier League. So it’s not going to be just Manchester United getting closer to the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool. Newcastle are also only going to get stronger. There are now seven teams getting towards a top level so it’s important they get their recruitment right.
Over the last four or five years, their recruitment hasn’t been amazing, but if they can get that right, with the manager they’ve got, they will have a chance of competing.
22 points is a lot to be behind after this many games, but that game at the Emirates could have made things so different. Football is a game of “what ifs”, what if Manchester United had won that game? They are defining moments that dictate the next 10-15 games.
Ten Hag is doing a very good job. The players and fans are all on-side and he’s changed a lot of things in a small amount of time. United will always spend money because they want to be the best and they have to try and be the best because that’s what it was like under Sir Alex. But competing isn’t going to be easy as there will be 6 or 7 clubs vying for those spots.
SP: You mentioned about United spending money - they’re still being linked with the likes of Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane. Is there one of those individuals or any other individual where you really see the potential summer transfer coming that you feel will really make a big impact?
PI: I’m not one to talk about other players when they are at other clubs and I wouldn’t want other managers to do the same about my players. Those players are very talented. Over the last couple years there has been lots of talk about Declan Rice leaving West Ham and I think he’s come out and said the same. He’s a very good player and could be a great player, the same for Jude Bellingham. They’re young players but if you look at the Manchester United or Liverpool’s midfield - they need building.
Every time you talk about midfield players you talk and think about these two. There are plenty of midfield players out there, but these two are English players we see all the time and they’ll make any team better, whatever team you put them in they’ll make them better.
As for Harry Kane, I think he’s Mr. Tottenham. He’s done so well to stay there because there’s been so much talk if he’ll leave. But he stayed strong, dug deep and showed his respect to Tottenham. He’s shown he loves being there, loves the club and the fans. But I don’t feel all this chopping and changing managers is going to benefit him.
I think he wants to be settled and he’s given his life to Tottenham. He’s going to have a decision to make at the end of the season so let’s see what materialises.
I’m really pleased David Sullivan has stuck with Moyes
SP: It was a massive win for West Ham in the relegation fight. Do you see West Ham staying up? Do you think David Moyes will keep them up?
PI: I hope so. I’m a West Ham boy. I started my career at West Ham when I was a young boy and I remember when I left West Ham for Manchester United they got relegated and it wasn’t a nice feeling, but if anyone can keep them up it’s David Moyes.
I’m really pleased David Sullivan has stuck with him when all the noise was around that he was going and someone else was coming in. They showed their belief and faith in Moyes. He’s a very good manager and no one panicked.
They’re not over the line yet, we know that. It was a nervous game on Sunday, for both teams, but it was a huge win. He knows there’s a long way to go but at this stage of the season if you’re winning games like that, it’s a six pointer. It boosts confidence and they’re a good team West Ham.
You don’t expect West Ham to be where they are but you can say that about a lot of teams this year – Leicester, Wolves – lots of teams that at the start of the season you didn’t expect to be there but they are.
As far as I’m concerned I’m glad they stuck with Moyes. I for one think they will get out of trouble, I think they have too much and they have a very good manager in charge who won’t panic.
People will say it’s exciting because it’s relegation from the Premier League! But when you’re part of it as a manager or a player, it’s not exciting, it’s scary. Every game you’re under pressure, every game is a cup final, every game you’re worried about what the other team has done. Sometimes you get shock results, a few weeks ago you expected the bigger team, Liverpool, to beat Bournemouth and then Bournemouth win.
Relegation battles: every game is a cup final
SP: Is there anyone down there you’d be worried about towards the bottom? Who are the three you think are going down?
PI: It’s so tough. When you talk about four or five points separating seven or eight teams, you can’t call it. If I tried to name three, I guarantee I’d get at least one wrong! West Ham won one game and were catapulted to 14th! It looks good because you’ve jumped up the table, but in reality we’re going to see this jumping around because it’s so tight.
People will say it’s exciting because it’s relegation from the Premier League! But when you’re part of it as a manager or a player, it’s not exciting, it’s scary. Every game you’re under pressure, every game is a cup final, every game you’re worried about what the other team has done. Sometimes you get shock results, a few weeks ago you expected the bigger team, Liverpool, to beat Bournemouth and then Bournemouth win.
If you’re Leicester you’ll feel that Liverpool will win, then Bournemouth beat them and you’re under pressure again as a fellow relegation rival. There’s a lot that can happen, I just feel that this is the time you need your players to step up and for things to go your way. You need no injuries. But as far as West Ham are concerned I think they’ll have enough. They’ll be well organised, Moyes will have them prepared and I think they’’ll be fine.
But if anybody asks me what the idea of a perfect professional is, it’s Jeff Hendrick because he’s a super guy. Fingers crossed and everything goes well for us and we manage to stay up, then we’d like to keep hold of him.
Reading: We’re basically playing with half a squad
SP: Moving onto Reading, how are you feeling after your draw at the weekend?
PI: I think it was important to get something on the road because our away form has not been very good. It's not because we are not trying, it’s just we’ve made mistakes that we've lost by the odd goal. We lost to both Cardiff and Sunderland in the last minute, just by making poor individual mistakes that cost the team.
To get something on the weekend was important. We’ve got eight first team players out, and those are players who would be starting for us. We’ve had to fill the bench with kids so to go to Bristol City and get a point was good.
Considering what’s coming down the line with a six point deduction, it’s really tough. We’ve got 46 points and in most years you’d say one more win and that’s enough. But with this 6-point deduction pending, we could be thrown into a relegation fight. And that’s the sad thing about it considering the restrictions we’ve been under, the embargo, we couldn’t strengthen in January when most other teams have bought players they needed.
We’re basically playing with half a squad and managed to get to 46 points which is a miracle in itself. So to know that six points are coming off when you should be feeling comfortable about staying in the league and building for next year is difficult. We’ll have to wait now until the next seven games.
SP: You’ve got two games coming up very quickly on Friday with Birmingham coming to you and then a trip to Preston. How are you feeling about those two?
PI: I feel good. Obviously before the Hull game where we picked up a point at home and then a point away to Bristol, I think we played four out of the top six in the Championship and we lost to them quite narrowly apart from the Middlesbrough game.
We’re unbeaten in two and that will give us confidence. Birmingham is a massive game for us. If we can pick up a win there it’ll take us nicely into the Preston game. It’s just one game at a time. It’s about who is available to play and just keep having a go for the last seven games.
It’s going to be a tight one, a bit like the Premier League, and we’ve just got to take care of ourselves. We start with Birmingham and then obviously Preston. After that we’ve got some tough ones with Burnley at home, Coventry away and Luton at home, so we need to pick up some points in the next two games.
SP: You mentioned Jeff Hendrick being a Premier League level player. Is this a situation where you have to wait until the end of the season before you can even look at whether he can be with you next season? Is that the case for most of the squad?
PI: I think so. It’s difficult because of the embargo and we can’t really afford to pay the wages we’d like. Hopefully the embargo gets lifted and then hopefully we can spend a bit more than what we have done this year.
Ideally he’s one of the players you can keep. He’s based in London, he’s got a family down here. In my life I’ve played with and managed some great players, but to me he is the ultimate pro. He comes in every day and does it right. He’s a great lad, everybody loves him. You know what you’re going to get out of him, seven or eight out of ten every week, he cares about his job.
Newcastle have gone down a different road and I think Jeff knows that. If we can afford to keep him next year then that’d be great. But I can’t think about next year. I need to think about keeping the team in the Championship, which is going to be tough enough as it is and then we go from there.
But if anybody asks me what the idea of a perfect professional is, it’s Jeff Hendrick because he’s a super guy. Fingers crossed and everything goes well for us and we manage to stay up, then we’d like to keep hold of him.
On being the first Black English football captain: I didn’t really look at it that way
SP: How much pride do you still hold about being the first Black English football captain? Is that something you still think about?
PI: When it actually happened in 1992 under Graham Taylor, that’s the first question the press asked me “what’s it like to be the first black England captain”, and I didn’t really look at it that way. I just felt what it’s like to be the England captain and I didn’t put colour to it. But then when I realised the history I was making, I was astounded because you think of Viv Anderson and John Barnes, and all these top international players and they’d never been captain or worn the armband!
I think it comes to my mind more when you sit back and think of all the great black players that have played for England. But for me to have that, it’ll never go away. It’s a piece of history and being the first black English manager in the Premier League is as well. It’s never something I envisioned when I was a youngster kicking a ball around the park in East London as a kid.
I’ve got so many fond memories of playing for England and people always come up to me and ask me about the night in Rome qualifying for the World Cup, the iconic pictures with blood coming out of my head. The piece of history I created is something no one can ever take away from me and a legacy that will go from kids to grand-children and it’s a great honour to have that.
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