| 8. For how long do you want to carry on playing football? |
| I really want to play until my body starts to shut down or I am forced to retire due to injury, and touch wood that doesn't happen! |
| 9. I know you are only starting off in your professional football career. What would you like to do after the end of your playing career? |
| I would ideally like to keep in the football circle as coaching goalkeepers etc. But if all else fails I will hopefully become a scout for the team I had retired from! |
| 10. What were the best and worst games of your career? |
| My worst game of my career was against Shankill juniors and it was my first game for Lisburn Youth. I made 2 terrible mistakes which cost us the match. I just wanted the game to end as the mistakes were in the first 15 minutes. The best game of my career was when I played in an under 18s match for Glentoran against Portadown in the Northern Ireland Youth Cup. I got man of the match and pulled off some good saves that kept me a clean sheet and kept us in the competition |
| 11. What are your main goals to reach in your career? |
| My main goals are to play at the highest level possible e.g. premiership, champions league, and also play for my country at full international duty, and do so for a number of years. |
| 12. How do you prepare yourself for a game? |
| Well on a typical day before a game I sleep for a couple of hours when I come home from training, and then half an hour before I go to bed I have a long warm bath, as this helps me to relax. Then I go to bed and think of all the things that I am going to try and do right in my game e.g. kicking, catching etc. And I also pray to God to help me through the game. On the day of the game I get up and have a shower and make sure I have a decent breakfast. In the changing room some of the boys like to laugh and joke but I sit in my corner with my iPod and think of the game for about 15-20 minutes and then join in with the rest of the banter. Then I go out about 10 minutes before the rest of the boys to warm up with my goalkeeper coach so I know I have plenty of time to get prepared. |
| 13. How many times a week do you train at Cardiff City? |
| I train with Cardiff every day. On Monday it is a double session and weights. Tuesday it is a single session in the morning. Wednesday it is an afternoon session with weights. Thursday is double session with preparation for match and Friday is a morning session which we go over set pieces etc |
| 14. What gloves and football boots do you wear? |
| I wear Nike total ninety boots abd Sells goalkeeper gloves. |
| 15. Who is the best footballer in the world? |
| Outfield player would be Lionel Messi and goalkeeper would be Petr Cech. |
| 16. Who brought you into football (friends, family)? |
| It was really my family and my friend's dad that brought me into football when i was about 10. |
| 17. What do you think of ladies football? |
| I think ladies football in good, but it is nowhere near the standard of men's football. |
| 18. What are your hobbies apart from football? |
| My hobbies are playing pool or snooker with my team mates and watching rugby. |
| 19. What was your most serious injury? |
| My most serious injury was when I strained my lateral ligament in my knee and I was out for 7 weeks. It was so annoying sitting on the side lines |
| 20. Are you superstitious? |
| Emm, yea, I am a bit, because I have the same corner in the changing room when we play at home. But it is not that serious |
| 21. What do you think about the high wages of professional footballers? |
| I think that the high wages are just the way of the game nowadays, and I think if players have the talent and are going to produce high standards week in week out then there is no price for that, but if players are just there for the wage and can't be bothered or are lazy when they play then I think their wages should be cut |
| 22. Who is in charge of the club stereo? |
| Emm, that's funny, but it's me because the staff and players say I have good taste in music as I like the old and new songs. |
| 23. Who is the best player in the Irish Premier League? |
| I will have to say Mark Magennis who is my uncle. he plays for Dungannon Swifts, but my favourite player, and always the first one to speak to me when I trained for the first team for Glentoran was Kyle Neil
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| 24. Are you careful to eat a healthy diet? |
| Before I signed for Cardiff I just used to eat junk food , pizza and kebab every weekend with my friends, but now I am here I am very careful about what I eat and when I eat it. |
| 25. What would you change today in your football career? |
| I would not change a thing because i am where I have always wanted to be, and that's playing professional football. |
| 26. This is your first season at Cardiff City. What advice would you give to a young goalkeeper to prepare him for the stress of leaving home and starting off in their professional career in England? |
| Well I am not going to lie, as it was and is very hard on me leaving home, because I was always close to my family. But I would say to young goalkeepers that move, is that always remember what you are there to do, and then think of what your friends back home are doing eg NOTHING, but going out on the streets. And when I am thinking of home or when I am having a bad day I would always watch a DVD or film and that takes my mind off thinking of back home. I would also say when you find out you are moving away I would strongly recommend that you start getting yourself up in the mornings and start relying on your self more than your mum and dad, because when you move away you have to do a lot for yourself e.g. getting yourself up, getting to the ground and sometimes cooking for yourself |
| 27. What difficulties did you have adapting to the lifestyle at Cardiff City? |
| My difficulties were getting myself up in the mornings and knowing when to go to bed, as it takes it toll in training. |
| 28. How did you feel when you were asked to sign for Cardiff City? |
| It felt like walking down the stairs on Christmas day multiplied by 1000, as it was all I ever wanted and dreamed to play professional football. |
| 29. What do you think about forming an all Ireland league? |
| I think it's a great idea. So once and for all we can see and know who is the best football team in Ireland, Linfield, Glentoran, Cork or Derry. But the only problem would be the violence at the games as some supporters will collide because of their religion. |
| 30. Who is your goalkeeping coach at Cardiff City? |
| Well I train with the first team every day, so when I train with them it's a guy called Martyn Margetson, and on a Saturday it's a guy called Christian Rodgers. |
| 31. Do you think that it is important to have a goalkeeping coach, if so why, and do you think that all football clubs should look at this department? |
| Yes it is very important because it is pointless the keepers waiting around just to do some shooting with the strikers, As a keeper it is very important to get taught positioning, handling and concentration, because without these qualities there is no point in being a keeper. Every single club from semi-pro upwards, or even amateur should have a keeper coach who is able to train the keepers at least 4 times a week and each session should be differents. |
| 32. How much is your monthly phone bill? |
| Each month I have about £20-£30 put in my phone by my parents. |
| 33. Are you a good loser? |
| No, I never have been and never will be. Second place is the first loser. No-one remembers who came second in the 100m Olympic final in 1992. It's only winners that count. |
| 34. What was the last CD you bought? |
| The last CD I bought was Greatest Love Songs. |
| 35. Who is the most difficult player you have played against? |
| The most difficult player is without doubt Jimmy Floyd Hasselbank, because all he does is moan, but in a good way as he always wants the best from the players around him. |
| 36. Who is the best goalkeeper in the world? |
| Petr Cech. |
| 37. What are your targets at Cardiff City this season? |
| To be number 1 the whole season, go a long way in the FA Youth Cup and finish in the top 5 in the league. |
| 38. What do you think of Robbie Fowler? Have you had any dealings with him? |
| I think he is brilliant, the best finisher of the ball I have ever seen in my life. Yea all the time I have to do some extra shooting practice with the strikers and I also have to clean his boots. |
| 39. What player in your team has the most powerful shot? |
| It would have to be our right winger/striker Jon Brown. |
| 40. What is your target for the 2007/08 season? |
| Be number one in the youth team and get into the Northern Ireland squad for my age |
