Following on from five enjoyable years in the Middle East, I am really looking forward to my next adventure in China. Having just completed my second visit to Shanghai, coaching and putting together the sports programme for next year, I am more convinced, and excited than ever that Wellington College has got a wonderful opportunity here. Having set up successful sporting academies and running coaching programmes in Dubai, I am confident that I can follow on from my successes there, indeed I hope to improve even further in China. After retiring as a professional player/player manager, back in 2005, I decided to make the move into coaching youngsters, believing that this would give me the greatest pleasure and offer the most personal reward. I had an amazing career in football. The game gave me everything. I began at West Bromwich Albion, a club I joined as an apprentice in July 1983, before turning professional a year later. My first game was against Newcastle United. My happiest club was Sheffield Wednesday, where there was a real family atmosphere, similar to what I have discovered at Wellington. I once scored a hat-trick for Wednesday, even though I was a defender. My greatest success came at another Yorkshire club, Leeds United, where we won the First Division title (now the Premier League) in 1991-1992, and I also played in both the FA Cup and League Cup finals. The highlight of my career was playing for England. Wembley has been completely rebuilt since those days, but I will never forget playing for my country in the shadow of the old Twin Towers. I even scored a goal for England and was in the squad for the 1992 European Championships in Sweden. Immediately after I retired from playing, I turned my attention to media jobs, working for the BBC, appearing regularly on Match of the Day, and ESPN and others in the Middle East and Asia, which I continue to do alongside my coaching commitments today. As a footballer, I was privileged to play alongside and against some of the world’s best players, and work under some of the most well-respected managers. I have many wonderful memories of my time in the game. For example, working under Ron Atkinson at various clubs was a pleasure, and I will always see him as a mentor to me. Another such figure was Howard Wilkinson, my ‘gaffer’ at Leeds and the last English manager to win the greatest prize in English domestic football. On the pitch, I had battles against some of the game’s greats at that time: Patrick Viera and Dennis Bergkamp (Arsenal), Roy Keane (Manchester United) and Ruud Gullit (Chelsea) to name just four. As for the greatest player I ever played with, it would have to be ‘Gazza’, or Paul Gascoigne, a great character and a wonderfully talented player. Having said that, as I finalise my preparations for moving to China with my wife Lucy, I intend learning the language. Lucy is already teaching mandarin at her school in England. Gazza had a very different approach to foreign languages when he moved to Italy. Having been told by Lazio, his new club, and his advisors, that it would be a good idea to learn Italian, he showed up for the first day’s training with a box full of ‘How to learn English’ books for his new team-mates! As I head off back to the UK, I do so with a feeling of excitement for the future. I honestly believe that Wellington in Shanghai is going to be a great success and to be part of its planning and preparation is a great honour for me. When I return I will be doing everything in my power to help make the College live up to its great potential. I can’t wait to get started!