TAKING HULL TO THE TOP

We had a shocking season in my first year at Hull. The first game we played was West Brom away; we lost 2-0 but played quite well and we could have got a draw. Second game we had Barnsley at home. We were 2-0 up in the first 20 minutes and ended up losing the game 3-2. That was a bitter pill to swallow and from that point on it went down and down. It was a massive struggle at the bottom and in the end Phil Parkinson, the man who brought me to the club, got the sack. Hull had brought in Phil Brown as his assistant and it was always on the cards that he´d step in if Parkinson was to leave. Phil Brown did a great job and kept us up. He had his own ideas on players and other things. He brought in some really good players, like Ray Parlour, and got a fair bit of experience in there.

My first couple of games in the Championship took me aback a little bit but once I got used to it, it was fine. I got supporters´ player of the year which was a massive achievement. I think I was playing quite well in the second half of the season so it was great to be recognised for that by the fans. The next year was massive. I was left out of the first game. I saw it coming during the week. We lost the game 3-2 to Plymouth and I got into the side for the second game against Plymouth alongside Browny [Wayne Brown]. Straight away we clicked and we played together for most of the season.

It was a brilliant partnership and all the functions of the team were working well. We just missed out on an automatic promotion place after a great run-in. We had a meeting with 12 games to go and the manager wrote down all the teams we were playing and we discussed what we wanted form each game. We didn´t quite get the automatic spot but looking back on it, going up via Wembley in the play-offs was even better. We played Watford away in the first leg of the semi. We went 2-0 up early and then held on. The second leg was a great occasion at the KC, a full house. We went a goal down early on but Nick Barmby got one back and we battered them in the second half. It ended 6-1 on aggregate. All the fans were on the pitch after the game and we went out on the balcony of the directors´ box to celebrate with them.

The play-off final was the best football day of my life; I had about 45 friends and family there. It was probably one of the best games I´ve ever had and it was fitting that Dean Windass scored the winner. It was an unbelievable goal and just a perfect day, an absolutely perfect day. On the Friday before the game we went to Wembley to have a look around and Phil Brown said to us: "Have a good look and take it all in because if you´re looking around tomorrow at three o´clock you´re gonna get beat." He had experience from his time at Bolton and he´d seen players freeze on the big stage. That meeting on the pitch put us in good stead. We were all fully focussed on the match and none of us were nervous, just looking forward to the occasion.

On the Monday we had the bus parade, which was amazing. We went all around the city, waving to the fans and ended up in the centre, on the balcony of the town hall. We took turns with the trophy and got cheers from the fans. Then it was the summer holiday with the thought of playing in the Premier League in our minds. Ever since I was at Charlton the Premier League was where I wanted to get back to and now I´d made it. I couldn´t wait to get back into pre-season and start again.