You said Middlesbrough could qualify for the Champions League when you signed in 2004. What excited you about the club?

They had some very good players. First I spoke to George Boateng, then I chatted with Steve Mcclaren and he sold the club to me. He said he was planning to sign Mark Viduka and I got really excited about that. I’m so happy I made that decision – I had two magnificent seasons and scored some great goals. I loved it there.

Boro went on a crazy run to the 2006 UEFA Cup Final. In the quarters against Basel, you needed four goals in an hour to go through – then you came on at half- time and scored… I was sat in the dressing room at half- time and everyone’s head was down. I don’t know why, but I said, “Guys, we’re gonna f** king do this!” When we pulled it back to 3- 2 on aggregate, the players got a second wind and Basel just couldn’t live with our intensity.