Boro released you at the end of that season. Were you ready to move on?

I wanted to stay. My contract was expiring, but Gareth Southgate took over and never called. I was always good with Gareth – I was one of the more vocal guys in the dressing room, and that might be why he didn’t want to keep me. As a first- time manager, he may have wanted people who wouldn’t challenge him.

Exactly! [ Apparently the manager, Martin Allen, didn’t want me. I spoke to him before he said no – he was asking me some strange questions – but he didn’t fancy me.

That was my last game, but I didn’t know it going into the match. I had one more year at Cardiff, but that was terminated because they were in some kind of financial trouble. I couldn’t find a club that felt like the right fit, I was 36 and decided enough was enough.