“PAUL INCE JUMPED ON ME AND YELLED, “YOU’VE F**KED IT!” IT WAS HARSH BUT HE WAS RIGHT”
How much did your childhood shape you as a footballer?
My childhood, as difficult as it was in places, totally shaped me as a man and a footballer. Having to move into foster care, being a kid from a mixed heritage in Stoke, experiencing racism in the 1970s, it was hard. I don’t want any sympathy, but my journey was far from straightforward. The thing is, with setbacks came dreams. My old teacher, the wonderful Mr Arkles, used to worry that I was too much of a dreamer, but you have to dream – and when Crystal Palace got to the 1990 FA Cup Final, that teacher sent me a congratulatory telegram. My experiences as a kid
