DREAM TEAM

STEVEN SCHUMACHER – The Fleetwood midfielder chooses his favourite XI, made up from players he has played with or against in his football career

GOALKEEPERI

Nigel Martyn – Retired I was a young lad at Everton when he was around, but he was a great character and would always have time for the players coming through. That’s something I think all senior players should do.

RIGHT-BACKI

Glen Johnson – Liverpool I played with him in the England set-up when we were younger and he was at West Ham. He was unbelievable for us and was always an athletic player who was strong on the ball. You could see he had a huge amount of potential.

CENTRE-BACKI

David Wetherall – Retired He was my captain at Bradford and was everything a captain should be. He was good to the young lads but firm enough that you knew when you needed to change something. I was 20 at the time and thought I was a world beater, but I learned from him to stay focused.

CENTRE-BACKI

Tom Lees – Sheffield Wednesday We were at Bury together and he was on loan from Leeds. He was the foundation at the back and covered whenever anyone made any mistakes. We got promotion that year and a large part was because of him.

LEFT-BACKI

Conor McLaughlin – Fleetwood Town He’s one of the best defenders in a oneon-one situation that I’ve played with. He will go far and has already played for Northern Ireland.

DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDI

Ashley Westwood – Aston Villa We played together when he was a young lad at Crewe and are still really good mates.The fact that Paul Lambert raves about him says a lot. He maybe goes unnoticed in the job he does but he plays in a tough position and is going to be up there with the best in the country.

RIGHTI MIDFIELDI

David Bentley – Retired One of the most naturally talented players I have seen. He was brilliant with both feet and was great from set-pieces. He didn’t develop as well as he had the ability to, but he was an incredibly gifted footballer.

LEFT MIDFIELDI

Leon Osman – Everton He was a bit older than me at Everton but I think the fact that he’s gone on to play hundreds of times for them and represented England as well shows how good he is. I think people didn’t appreciate his talent for a long time, but you don’t play at that level for that amount of time without being first class.

ATTACKING MIDFIELDI

Gylfi Sigurdsson – Swansea He came on loan to Crewe and I’ve never seen anyone practice like he did. Anything he wasn’t great at he would just work and work on until he could do it. That is the kind of dedication it takes to be one of the best.

STRIKERI

Wayne Rooney – Manchester United I used to pick him up and take him to training at Everton. He has always been an unbelievable talent. He is big and strong and has always been a powerful player with brute strength. But his movement off the ball is sensational and he always wants it.

STRIKERI

Ryan Lowe – Bury When I played with him he was 32 or 33. He is not blessed with a lot of pace but he is 36 now and still playing. He will always score goals. If you give him a chance in the box he will put it away, and that ability is something that real strikers are born with. He just has that natural instinct.