ire v san marino wed nov 15 2006

YBIG: Best memory as a player?
PAUL: I would have to say it was the game against Italy in 1990 in Rome, even though we got beaten. To play the Italians in Rome.

YBIG: Worst memory?
PAUL: Leichtinstein would have to be up there. There keeper played out of his skin, we pummelled the goal, but he had a magnificent game to be fair.

YBIG: Growing up, who guided you to the heights you reached?
PAUL: There was three people at Dalkey who helped me along the way, Tom Cullen, Johnny Donoghue and Frank. They were people I
could always go to if I had any problems.

YBIG: All time favourite player?
PAUL: Pele, definitely.

YBIG: Worst dress sense in the Charlton era?
PAUL: There was a right few dodgy characters. In the Charlton era, I would have come close, I would have hit the post with that myself. I would have to say Kevin (Moran).

YBIG: Biggest joker in Charlton era?
PAUL: Andy Townsend definitely, he was a brilliant character.

YBIG: Best central defence partner you have ever played with?
PAUL: I would have to say Kevin again.

YBIG: Best striker you played against?
PAUL: Ian Wright was up there for entertainment cause he never shut his mouth but a great player as well. At international level, there is a few good ones up there. I think I played against Rossi before and he was a difficult one.

YBIG: Best world cup memory?
PAUL: I would have to go back to 1990 again, cause I’ve never known anything like the support. And I suppose the Giants Stadium. As games go it couldn’t have gone much better than that, beating the Italians and paying them back for 1990.

YBIG: Toughest player you played against?
PAUL: Kerry Dixon was one of the toughest lads I have ever played against, although he didn’t get much recognition for it, he was a very tough player. Mark Hughes was definitely up there.

YBIG: Best football advice received as a youngster?
PAUL: Basically just to keep practicing, no one real thing to be honest. Just keep practicing, practicing and practicing.I mean I spent hours just kicking a ball, keeping it up by myself.

YBIG: Which club did you prefer playing at Man Utd or Aston Villa and why?
PAUL: For different reasons both to be honest. Manchester United was and still is I think the biggest club in the world. From the prestigious point of view it was lovely to play for them cause wherever you went in the world you got great welcomes. We flew out to Singapore and places like that and got great welcomes all over the place. So Manchester United for purely an egotistical point of view. But Aston Villa, I easily played the best football of my life, without a doubt.

YBIG: Who do you think is
the best central defender
in the world at the
moment?
PAUL: Every time I think of this fellas name it escapes me, the little Italian boy, Cannavaro that’s it. I love the way he plays. I was a massive fan of Baresi’s as well. I mean just to watch Baresi at work was an honour for me. I thought he was just brilliant and Cannavaro, he is a fantastic player. But I am also a Chelsea supporter and John Terry is such a leader but Cannavaro is the best in the business.

YBIG: Best manager you played under and why?
PAUL: I would have to go with Ron Atkinson. I don’t know about the managerialthing but purely for making football a fun game to be in. He was just such a funny manager. It was like going into a comedians house each day when you went to work, so definitely Ron for me.

YBIG: Do the current players appreciate the green jersey as much as they did in your era?
PAUL:I think they do, I honestly do. I think they appreciate it as much as our boys did. I think I would be doing a similar sort of thing. I don’t think people are willing to get injured as they were. That sounds a harsh thing to say but there is so much at stake for players these days and like I say if I was playing in the modern game today I think I would look after myself better than I would have, and I mean on the pitch now. The rewards are so great now that players have to look after themselves much more than we did.

YBIG: Last match in the Old Lansdowne Rd - what will be your fondest memory of the venue?
PAUL: I have loads of great memories of teams we have played against there, beating Portugal, Spain, some great teams we have played against there. If there was one I could pick out? I scored a goal against Luxembourg when we won 2-1 and it was a volley. I very rarely scored, a lot of my goals were bundled over the line. To actually score a half decent strike and we were needing to win it so that would be a great memory.

YBIG: There was an infamous caption on a picture of you and Ruud Gullit before which read 'Black Magic' - what were your
 thoughts on that?
PAUL: I never saw the picture to be honest,I mean, I would have taken that as a compliment. I know there are people who would of thought it shouldn’t of been done that way but to me that was a massive compliment cause Ruud Gullit was one of the greatest players I have ever played against and one of the greatest in the world.

YBIG: If you could go back and play one match. What game would it be and why?
PAUL: We played Juventus in the semis one time with Manchester United and we were kind of wearing them down at one stage. Platini was playing and Rossi scored the decisive goal and we almost got to extra time, we were giving them a pasting. I think definitely that is one game I would like to go back and try and change, I never played in a final.

YBIG: Eamon Dunphy and John Giles say there is a real lack of quality international teams at present, do you agree or disagree?
PAUL: I honestly think that football has become a faster game. People are fitter but I still see a hell of a lot of good football at international level. I would never criticise players of this era because like I say it’s faster and I don’t know if too many of us oul fellas would have coped in the modern game today. I love watching international footballers cause there is a hell of a lot of good players around. I think if you look at certain teams there isn’t the same quality. I look at the Italian team, they have won the World Cup, back in their day they were slightly better. You can pick out teams and say that of them but not international football I don’t think.

YBIG: Some fans are trying to get a Croker singing section sorted. What are your thoughts on that?
PAUL: I think that is magnificent, they should do it all over the ground. It’s a great idea and hopefully it might be infectious and other people might join in but that is a great idea.

YBIG: A fan of Jose Mourinho or not?
PAUL: I am a fan of his simply cause of the reasons I have given, cause I am a Chelsea supporter and he has done wonders for them. But at the same time I do think he takes a little bit away from it and maybe that’s just his way of deflecting the pressure from the players. But sometimes he over states things and gets too involved himself in things maybe he shouldn’t but I do like the man for what he has done and he has achieved a hell of a lot as a manager.

YBIG: What players out of the current Irish squad would you have liked to play alongside and why?
PAUL: Definitely Robbie Keane, I think he is a magnificent little player. I love watching him playing cause he is likely to do the most unusual things and score a goal out of nothing and Damien Duff of course. Obviously Paul McShane of course, another Mick McCarthy in the making, winners like that I would love to have the chance to play alongside.

YBIG: Is it true that Kevin Sheedy was always the butt of the jokes?
PAUL: Not at all. Kevin Sheedy is a very clever guy, one of the most intelligent footballers I have met. I think he got involved in most of the
joking around. If there was any joking to be done or any little clicks and stuff, Kevin was always a member of them cause he loved the bit of craic. He was one of the good ones and a hell of a footballer.

YBIG: Saipan - who was right?
PAUL: I come down on Roy’s side obviously cause we are good friends and that. Mick McCarthy has been a friend of mine as well for many years and I wish they could have sorted it, and with Mick been the manager I think he should have kept one of our best players. There should have been a way around this basically. Both were in the wrong but I came down on Roy’s side.

YBIG: Your new book, Back From The Brink, how is it going?
PAUL: I hope people enjoy it basically cause it was an honest story. Vincent Hogan did a great job on it and I am delighted it is out there now so maybe there will be no more press releases on bad things I have done, I just hope people enjoy it.