"THE PLAYERS DIDN'T SEE KEVIN KEEGAN'S 'MELTDOWN' AS ANYTHING NEGATIVE. WE LOVED HIM FOR HIS PASSION"

The Geordie recalls King Kev's rant, shares his love for Ossie Ardiles and reveals what it's like to cross the Tyne-Wear divide

- Ed McCambridge

You were one of FourFourTwo’s very first ‘Boy’s A Bit Special’ subjects, in 1994. Did you know about it at the time?

Yes, and I still have the magazine with the feature in it. That was back in the days when there were loads of magazines, so I used to read them – all the sports and music titles. It was really special to actually be included in one. FourFourTwo is iconic and I’m honoured to have been a small part of the journey.

As a born-and-bred Geordie, is playing for Newcastle the stuff dreams are made of?

Absolutely. I lived every Geordie’s dream. It’s funny how it became normal to me, spending my days at this magnificent club, surrounded by world-class footballers I idolised – Alan Shearer, Les Ferdinand, Peter Beardsley. But, in hindsight, it was crazy. Not a day goes by when I don’t think about those times.

Ossie Ardiles handed several youngsters their debuts – not just yourself but Steve Watson, Steve Howey, Alan Thompson...

Ossie was massive for us youngsters. He took a huge interest in our development and often came to youth games. During that 1991-92 season, once it was clear we weren’t going to be relegated, he saw a chance to give some kids a run in the team, as that’s the only real way to see who can handle senior football. Suddenly, five or six of us from the youth side were in and around the first team. It was a mad time, and a pivotal era for the club. Funnily enough, I saw Ossie over the summer and we had a catch-up. I’ll always love him. He gave me my chance to play for my club.

After breaking into the first team, you had to be patient due to John Beresford’s form at left-back – was that frustrating?