On my team

SHAY Given has named four former Newcastle United team-mates in his 11 players that left an impression on him during his career.

Given spent 11-and-a-half years on Tyneside and is widely regarded as the Magpies’ best goalkeeper of the Premier League era.

The former Republic of Ireland international would go on to enjoy spells with Manchester City, Aston Villa, Stoke and Middlesbrough but, unsurprisingly, his time at Newcastle left a lasting impact.

And that was reflected as he selected the 11 players who made an impression on him off the field during his career.

Here is what he Given, who is now a goalkeeping coach at Derby County, had to say on the latest episode of ‘Any Given Sunday’.

STEVE HARPER

”I worked with him for 12 years and he has dry wit.

“He used to always call me Lazarus because I never missed a game. If I had an injury I would be taking tablets or taking injections just to get on to the pitch.

“He would keep saying: ‘Is there any chance of you allowing me to have one game this season?’”

TITUS BRAMBLE

”We used to call him Dan Marino, the famous quarter-back.

“Titus would get the ball at his feet and try to pick out a winger and nine times out of 10 he would pick out the second row of the stand and there was the automatic Titus Bramble hand up to say ‘sorry lads!’”

JONATHAN WOODGATE

”He is a manager now at Middlesbrough but he had a real witty side to him as well.

“He used to look at people in a way nobody else would. He would say something and you would only notice it afterwards.

“He used to call Peter Ramage ‘Sheephead’. Nobody noticed it but you looked at him carefully afterwards and he did look a little bit like a sheep.

“This might be a bit rude but he used to call me ‘diddynips’ because I have the smallest nipples ever.

“I didn’t even know it myself but I was looking in the mirror thinking ‘you know what, he’s right!’

“He used to say some crazy stuff.”

NOLBERTO SOLANO ”People might remember him as a fantastic right-winger and I used to say to him: ‘Nobby, why don’t you use your left foot?’

“He would say: ‘Shay, when your right foot is this good you don’t need the left foot.’

“By the time he left Newcastle he was probably more of a Geordie than the Newcastle fans.

“He used to make a barbecue and he would say ‘you just bring the beers and I will do the food’.

“He had a trumpet as well so you would be in the gym and the next minute he would come through playing his trumpet.

“Some managers would be under pressure and he would be playing the Last Post.

“All the lads would be like: ‘You can’t be playing that!’”