Team you supported as a boy?

Norwich – still is! I went off them a little bit when they sold me. But now Kenny McLean is there, they have got a new brand of football which is brilliant and they are playing a lot of young lads. My love for the club has come back a fair bit. I saw Kenny when I was back down seeing family during the last international break. We went for coffee. It is great to see him doing so well.

Room mate for away games?

I am by myself sometimes and then other times I share with Tomas. He is a very good room mate. We both do a bit of studying and then maybe watch a film. It is very chilled and we enjoy a full night’s sleep.

The boots you wore in your last game?

Nike ones. They are orange and have the laces inside. No idea what they are called. I am 32 now and don’t know these things! I did when I was younger.
I don’t like wearing black boots. No idea why. I haven’t worn black boots for a long time, so I tend to go for a different colour. I wore white for a while when there wasn’t very much variation. When I first started, 16 odd years ago, there were only black boots. If you were a goalkeeper and wore white boots, you were asking for trouble! The coaches probably wouldn’t let you!

Favourite item in your wash bag?

The Philips OneBlade. Is that advertising?!

Best moment on a football pitch?

Difficult one. Probably my Premier League debut for Cardiff against Hull City a while ago now. I had a decent game and we drew 1-1.

Favourite goal you have ever seen?

Scott McKenna’s strike against Kilmarnock was one of those ones where everyone is shouting “Shoot!”, not thinking he actually would. But all the players knew he had it in him because he has an absolute rocket of a shot, so if he lines it up and it comes out of the middle like it did, it’s going to be trouble for the goalkeeper. It was not far away from the top corner and it moved an incredible amount in the air. I heard someone say that they thought the goalkeeper could have done better! From that distance you are never expecting the ball at that pace. It’s the best goal I have seen live, although I was not actually on the field that day. I was injured and commentating on RedTV.

Best save you have ever seen?

I would say David James for England against Turkey at the Stadium of Light in 2003, that was an unbelievable save. Also, David Seaman for Arsenal against Sheffield United in the FA Cup semi-final when he clawed it off the line. David de Gea has made some brilliant saves. Tom Heaton made a superb stop for Burnley against Manchester United when he did a big star shape. But if I had to pick just one, I would say David James.
There is a lack of understanding amongst commentators about what is a good save. It’s good when you have the likes of Peter Schmeichel on TV talking about goalkeeping. David Preece talks sense about goalkeeping on social media.

Any pre-match rituals or special routines?

I just like to get in really early. I get in at least two hours before kick-off so I can get all my captain’s duties out of the way. There are certain jobs you have to do as captain. I get them done and maybe then watch a few clips of the opposition strikers and get myself ready for the warm up. But there are no rituals. I’m not superstitious.

Who is the best player you have ever played with, other than at Aberdeen?

I am showing my age now, but I would say Dion Dublin. He was so talented. He came to Norwich when I was only 18 or 19. He was about 38, at the tail end of a great career. He scored over 100 goals in the Premier League but ended up playing centre-half. I just remember the composure he had. He did not get flustered by anything.
He was big bloke physically, he was strong and he was quick and you saw that with many of the goals he scored, but I didn’t realise how good a footballer he was, how talented and how much ability he had with the ball at his feet. Dion was a great professional, he was always in the gym and a great guy – one of the best you will come across in football.

And against?

I am maybe slightly biased because he is a goalkeeper, but I would say Manuel Neuer. I played against him when England played Germany at U21 level. He was brilliant, he ran the game from his goal. The presence he had and the confidence he had at that age was unbelievable. He had the arrogance that you probably need to get to the top.

I remember the pre-match analysis we did with Stuart Pearce, who was the coach at the time, the videos we watched were so focussed around him and how he got them playing, his distribution. He has been one of the very best at the sweeper / keeper role.

Neuer was maybe not the first one to do the dual role but he was certainly one of the first to master it. Jens Lehman was another German keeper who was very good at it. He made the odd mistake but I enjoyed watching him.

The last two or three years, we have seen more and more managers wanting their keepers to be good with their feet. I think it will get to a stage where it goes too far, and you have keepers playing who are not as good at the goalkeeping fundamentals, such as dealing with crosses. I think it will go too far and will then come back more towards actual goalkeeping work and saving shots.

When I say he had arrogance, I mean it in a good way. One thing I have learnt over the years is that if you make a mistake, you can’t let it worry you and stop you playing your game. The worst thing as a goalkeeper is worrying about making a mistake because you are focussed on not doing something wrong, you stay glued to your line and can get paralysed with the fear of making a mistake.

The best keepers are the ones who have that strut, that arrogance, that confidence. Although his career has fallen away slightly, Joe Hart had that when he was younger. When I trained with him with England he had an incredible confidence. You can learn to do that even if you are not confident. You can’t really fake it but you can pretend to a certain degree.

It’s the one piece of advice I give to young goalkeepers. Even if you are not confident, pretend that you are. Pretend that you don’t care about making a mistake and have that strut on the pitch and let people know that you know what you are doing because it will help you to be like that and lead to you having more confidence.
I learned that from Manuel Neuer all those years ago.

Which player in history would you like to play alongside?

More recent history, but I would say Nemanja Vidić. I would want him playing in front of me. You had Rio Ferdinand playing alongside him and was a brilliant defender as well but Vidić looked like he hated conceding goals as much I do.

What do you do to relax away from football?

Golf. I enjoy my time with my son. It is not always relaxing but I really enjoy it! I watch a bit of cricket, I don’t play anymore and I would love to. I go down to Mannofield.

Who would you most like to meet?

I would like to meet Ricky Gervais. It’s been said that we have a similar sense of humour. I listen to the podcast Ricky does with Karl Pilkington and Stephen Merchant. I would actually like to meet the three of them. I would like to sit in on a podcast with them for an afternoon.

What is the one thing you most love about football?

I love at the end of the game when the whistle goes and you have won the three points, preferably with a clean sheet. That feeling there, you can’t replace it.
The contrast when you lose a game is massive. When you lose a game, you feel so bad and you are feeling like that for a few days. When you win though, you can say that game is done now and you can enjoy your evening and the next few days without regretting decisions and thinking about what you should have done in the game.