"THE MISSILE SIRENS WOULD START DURING TRAINING, SO WE'D HAVE TO GO INSIDE AND TAKE COVER"

The Welsh international striker recalls growing up in Africa, humiliation at Derby and air strikes in Israel, not to mention a certain hat-tricks record...

- Robert Earnshaw

Having been born in Zambia, before living in Malawi, how long did it take you to adapt to life in Wales?

It took me years. We moved over when I was nine, after my dad passed away. Wales was very new and different – in the first weeks, it was freezing cold and a huge eye-opener for me. It was really hard to adjust because we didn’t know many people aside from my auntie and her kids, who we lived with at first. My mum fought hard to give us a better life. It was tough to make friends and I didn’t have too many at school to begin with; I started playing football when I was 12 and that helped me to integrate.

What made you such a prolific scorer from a young age?

I was quick and I loved scoring goals, so I was drawn to the forward position. It was that irreplaceable feeling of scoring and making a difference in the game – there’s nothing like it. It’s the toughest thing to do on the pitch and I wanted to do it properly.

Following your Cardiff debut in 1998, you won two promotions and scored more than 100 goals – how good were your seven years there?

Coming through at Cardiff was amazing. Things changed when Sam Hammam took over: he was at Wimbledon with the Crazy Gang and he brought the same feeling to Cardiff. He wanted to get us to the Premier League. It was a new start and a hell of a journey. It was a brilliant few years. We had fanatical supporters and a good team full of talented players, and we just had so much fun. We were loving the ride.

Were bigger clubs interested in you?