PUT YOUR SHIRT ON HIM

Last updated : 29 December 2002 By Editor

From The NOTW

“The lads have given me a lot of stick. The shirt has a layer underneath and I had been spinning it around my head and when I tried to put it on I messed it up.

“I saw the game had started so I just kept running without my shirt. The referee told me to get off the pitch and put my shirt back on The lads still laugh about it now.

“After the first goal against Liverpool I went to take my shirt off but got it wrong.

“I put my arms across my body at the bottom of my shirt instead of the top.

On his goals at Anfield:

“The first goal was harder than it looked - it was easy to miss. It was a very tight angle and I wanted to kick it hard, but I was near the post and thought: ‘If it touches the post it could come out. After I scored I knew how much it meant to the fans - they went wild.

“However, a steward spoilt it. He stopped my celebrations in a very bad way by turning me away from the fans. I ran towards him but I didn’t realise he was going to catch me and shove me back onto the pitch. It was bad. It’s like when you go dancing and the bouncers come crashing in - it was not needed.

“It spoiled the moment, maybe the steward was a Liverpool fan, maybe he was just trying to do his job and keep things calm. That is OK but he can’t do it like that. I was not going to touch the fans.”