People said: 'You're too big to play football,' but I kept playing and it just happened that people have caught on to me and taken to me. The nicest thing I get from it is that I can be myself and people seem to like it.

A footballer who says they don't want to start games is in the wrong job.

My size works against me as well, as some players I would just touch and they would fall over to get a free kick.

I am not a small guy - I will be the first to say it.

Sometimes it is tough and frustrating to sit on the bench.

Everyone has got a perception of what a footballer is and, because I am a certain size, that I can only play one way - as a battering ram.

More than anything I prefer the ball on the floor. I think I play my best football on the floor. There is a delicacy to this big giant.

My old boss Aidy Boothroyd is a great man and I've got no malice or anything toward him.

A player's mind, body and soul have to be right to get the best out of them, and if a player no longer wants to be at a club then the club should try and get the best deal they can and let the player move on.

Players build up friendships with each other, so when a team-mate wants out, part of you understands that he is torn and you know you can't begrudge him a move. But the other part of you wants him to stay because you want to win games.

During my career I've come back to clubs after the summer break to see one of my team-mates not really at it because he's been denied a move to a bigger club for whatever reason, and you can see in his body language that he doesn't want to be there and that kind of thing is massively disruptive and negative.

I enjoy watching England but I won't rearrange my schedule just to make sure I'm in to see the game.

If you want to gamble, so be it, but when it gets to the stage where gambling is the only thing you are thinking of and it is affecting your life, that's when you need to put a hold on it.

I've always liked to keep myself busy so I don't get sucked in by temptations and that was part of the reason why I set up my BMO brand - to keep me occupied during my career, but also for when I finish football.

Boredom does get you into trouble and we footballers have a lot of time on our hands, and sometimes we fill up that time with stuff that isn't always positive.

I'm not a gambler and I never have been.

People may laugh or whatever, but my strength is something that I have to work on. It's not something that just happens overnight, it takes dedication and hard work and it has a purpose as it helps me every week on the pitch.

To be recognised as the best in the whole world at something is an achievement.

I've been in football a long time now and I've seen plenty of managers and players come and go. It is part and parcel of the game.

The time you are happy to sit on the bench, is the time you should retire in my opinion.

Sometimes I think it would be nice to be in a warm office every day. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining because I know how lucky I am to be playing football for a living. The positives by far outweigh the negatives.

I would never lie about another professional.

Let me clear something up: I don't like KFC. Or McDonald's.

I'm a footballer first and foremost and I want to be remembered for what I do on the pitch.