Athlete

Keeping people on their toes is the best way to get the best out of people.

Most opponents aren't Ronaldo! You have to show him respect but not too much, because that's when you get taken advantage of.

It's always great to see someone's life change for the better, and to be involved in something like that is really uplifting for me.

I had a lot of idols like Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, and Xabi Alonso - all of them. I really looked up to them.

It's something you dream of. It's very special to play in the Merseyside derby and, especially, win.

The most important thing for me is education, and my family were really supportive in making sure I did the best I could.

There are always opportunities at Liverpool.

You are brought up to realise that there will always be tough times in football and that nothing is ever straight forward.

If you take your foot off the gas, there's always someone who wants your spot.

I always supported Liverpool. My whole family did!

I used to love watching Match of the Day and the goals. I used to love seeing people scoring.

I try not to pay too much respect to the players I am playing against.

My mum and dad always knew that my dream was to be a footballer, but they also warned me that it doesn't always work out.

I used to show my emotions too much. I had to get rid of that because the opposition would notice and start to target me. If I did something wrong, I would take it out on myself, but it is important in football to concentrate for 90 minutes.

With Ronaldo being one of the greats, probably one of the best players ever, it's going to be an honour to hopefully play against him.

In training, you can push yourself to the limit and test yourself against the best players in the world. That is when the pressure is really on, and they are the moments when you either improve, or you don't.

My first poster was Michael Owen. I used to just love how he scored goals.

You have a job to do, and whoever I am up against I will try to come out on top like I always try.

I started playing football with my mates and my brothers, in the playground or the park or the front garden. It was just about enjoying it, having a good time playing. I wanted to play all the time.

As a kid, I used to go and wait at the gates of Melwood or look through the cracks in the wall just see if I could see any of the people I was looking up to, who we all wanted to aspire to become, when we were in the Champions League, the likes of Gerrard, Carragher and Alonso.