“From the first game [against Keane], I knew straight away that it will be a fight in every single game,” he added.

“So I loved the way he was on the field, it was massive respect. And he was a leader, he was the captain of the team, he was the one who was driving the team and the players to compete at the level he was, challenging the players.

“I admire him as a captain and I knew that would be one of the battles to try to win when you’re on the pitch.”