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You joined Liverpool under Kenny Dalglish, what was he like to play for?

He was so big on everything being all about the club, everything was all about the team. Obviously, nobody ever is at a club like Liverpool, but no player was bigger than the club or the team.

When I arrived at the club I didn’t really know what to expect from him, it’s Kenny Dalglish! I was a bit in awe of him. But he was a fantastic man manager and brilliant to play for.

He would always back his players. There were times when he could have dug his players out, but he always took the blame for them to keep the pressure off. I thought that was an amazing quality and he was really good, even though I couldn’t understand a word he said!

Who was the best player you played with during your time at Liverpool?

Steven Gerrard was the standout player at the club, and that’s the obvious one to pick. He was an amazing player and I played with him during his transition between being an attacking midfielder and playing a bit deeper as he got older.

Luis Suarez got better and better every time he played as well. As soon as he got acclimatised to the Premier League, he just went to another level. Liverpool fans probably don’t want to hear this, but it was obvious he was going to leave to a club like Barcelona or Real Madrid if Liverpool weren’t going to improve and win the league.

Also the man who played alongside him deserves a mention. I think injuries killed him a bit, but Daniel Sturridge was a top, top player.

From the outside looking in, Suarez seemed like an interesting character. What was he like to share a dressing room with?

Do you know what, he was really quiet. He never really said that much. He was a family man, always home with his wife and kids and didn’t really go out a lot.

People think he was a bit of a crackpot off the pitch, out partying, but he was far from it. Once you put him on a football pitch, he turned into a winner.

You also played with Jordan Henderson towards the start of his time at Liverpool, how obvious was it that he would become the natural successor to Gerrard?

He always had leadership qualities from a young age, but I don't think it was obvious that he would be the man when Gerrard retired.

In his first season at Liverpool he played on the right wing and was in and out of the team. When Brendan Rodgers said he could leave and go to Fulham, that was the turning point for him. He turned a corner and went from a boy to a man overnight. He kept going to get back in the team. He’s a hardworking lad and that’s the best quality he has.

For a young player, he could have easily folded and gone under with the amount of pressure at a club like Liverpool. I always knew he had that fight in him to keep going and, fair play, he’s deserved every success he’s had.

How much will Liverpool miss his off-pitch influence?

They’ll miss it a lot. I remember during lockdown when there were no fans at games and all you could hear on TV was Henderson shouting on the pitch.

The players that Liverpool have brought in look like quiet characters. I think Virgil van Dijk leads in how he plays, rather than being especially vocal.

They’re going to miss James Milner as well. I know he didn’t play every game, but there is a reason Jurgen Klopp wanted to keep him for so long. At the end of the day, the senior players run the dressing room. They keep everyone in line and that helps the manager do his side of the job.

Who should step into the leadership void at Liverpool?

I know Klopp has made Van Dijk the captain, but I think Trent Alexander-Arnold will come out of himself a bit more. He’s a local lad and knows what it means to play for the club. I think with Jurgen giving him the vice-captaincy, he’s trying to get that out of him. He’s probably the natural successor.

Having lost a number of influential players and brought in both Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, what have you made of their transfer business?

I would have loved to have seen Jude Bellingham at Liverpool. They were totally priced out, but he would have been amazing for Liverpool to kick them on towards winning the title. He’s in that Gerrard ilk, isn’t he?

I think the two lads they have brought in are good players. I think Mac Allister will be a good signing because he’s quite versatile. He’s expected to get into the box and get some goals but he can also be a sitter. For the money they’ve paid, he’s a good signing.

Szoboszlai looks really good, doesn’t he? He can see a pass, he’s a clever, cute player. He can get forward a bit because he’s got legs. It’ll be interesting to see how Klopp sees the three in the middle. Will it be Curtis Jones sitting with the two new signings getting forward?

I’d still like to see one more attacking player join in summer, more in the mould of Roberto Firmino. Hopefully Diogo Jota can fill those shoes if he stays fit. I’d love to see and out-and-out, top number nine. I don’t think the players they’ve got are on the level of Luis Suarez or Fernando Torres yet.

Where do you think Liverpool finish this season?

I think they’ll be looking at a top four place, realistically. When you look at Manchester City and Arsenal, they’re two top teams that almost play chess against each other. I think they will be one and two again. I think for Liverpool and Manchester United, getting into the top four again will be an achievement.

Moving onto another of your former clubs, Aston Villa have had some turnaround under Unai Emery. How impressed have you been with them?

I watched Villa a lot before he came in and it felt like they were trying to sit back and play counter-attacking football. Compare that to how Emery had them playing last season, he just seems to have got them going. He looks like a great motivator.

I thought that aiming for a top-half finish would have been great for them, but the run they had was unbelievable. He’s a top manager and with the right resources he could do really well. I think they’ll be in and around the top six again.

Some of their signings this summer wouldn’t look out of place at a Champions League team, what is their realistic next step?

I think if they get into the top six and establish themselves, that will represent progress. With the players they’ve brought in, it’s possible.

I like Moussa Diaby, I think he could be a top player. He’s set up for the Premier League, he’s got pace, skill and can beat players.

Villa’s not an easy place to go and I’ve got a good feeling about him.

Youri Tielemans is another player they have brought in who was touted for £40-50m at one point, and he can play attractive football. Bringing in Pau Torres suggests that’s what they’re going to do as well.

Who do you think is the best signing of the summer so far in the Premier League?

Naturally I’m more drawn to attacking players more and, for me, Diaby at Villa is one that sticks in my head more than any other. I think he’s set up perfectly for the Premier League.

I like Sandro Tonali at Newcastle as well, and even think Mateo Kovacic for £30m at Manchester City is a great signing.

On attacking players, Harry Kane to Bayern Munich is the biggest transfer story at the moment, do you think that’s a good move for him?

Kane must look at Erling Haaland at Manchester City with a bit of envy, mustn’t he? He gets 25 to 30 goals for Tottenham, so he’s always going to get goals.

I think he deserves to play in a team that’s winning trophies. Bayern Munich are always in the latter stages of the Champions League, they’re always strong.

It sounds to me like he wants to have the chance to win a competition like the Champions League, which you can’t begrudge him. He’s given a lot of service to Tottenham. But I think if he stays, he’ll never leave. If he signs a new contract, I think that’ll be him done. He’ll end up breaking the Premier League goals record and getting a statue outside the ground.

I think for a player of his quality, though, don’t worry about the record. Go and win some trophies if that’s what it’s about.

Who do you think will finish in the Premier League top four this season?

I think Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United. But then you look at Newcastle and Chelsea, with the quality they have, and think they must be in with a shout. Mauricio Pochettino’s a really good manager, you can’t rule out good managers with good players.

Who do you think will be relegated?

I think Luton will go down. I think they’ve done amazingly to get into the Premier League, but I think their lack of quality will tell in the end.

I think the thing with Luton is, if they stay up then great. But if they don’t, they’ve still got a good squad, with players like Ryan Giles and potentially Chuba Akpom. They could be set up well to come back up again in the near future. That could be a good model.

I worry for Wolves, the manager doesn’t seem happy. They might go this time.

I also think Sheffield United. This season, the difference in quality between the Premier League and the Championship is chalk and cheese, so promoted sides could struggle.

Which player do you think is set up to have a breakout season?

I really like the look of Cole Palmer. He scored a lovely goal in the Community Shield and with more opportunities he could force Pep Guardiola’s hand to get more gametime.

He’s playing for Manchester City, so you know he’s a good player, but he needs to force his way in. Maybe now they’ve let Riyad Mahrez go, there’s a spot for him to come through.

Moving onto the Championship, what were your takeaways from Middlesbrough’s opening day defeat to Millwall?

I wasn't surprised because they've been a bit stodgy in pre-season. I think Michael Carrick would like a few more experienced players in.

At the minute, I don’t think they’ll be strong enough to even push for the play-offs. Maybe this might nudge the board to give him a bit of help. Last season they had Akpom and Cameron Archer playing together, and with Akpom unavailable at the moment, they currently have neither.

How big a loss would Akpom be if he did move to the Premier League?

Massive. They can’t afford to lose Akpom one bit. Last season, he basically scored a goal every other game.

With rumours of Premier League interest, maybe they cash in, but then who do you bring in to replace that amount of goals? The season’s already under way and to find someone like that will be difficult and cost a lot of money.

Where do Middlesbrough need to strengthen in the remainder of the transfer window?

I’d like to see Cameron Archer back. From a selfish point of view, I was hoping that he wouldn’t get a chance at Aston Villa so we could get him back. He was brilliant when he came in last season and worked really well with Akpom.

I think Carrick will be trying that, but elsewhere I was a bit surprised by Middlesbrough’s transfers this summer. I’d expect some proven Premier League players dropping down to get a chance or some with experience from the Championship, but a lot of them are unknown.

That’s not their fault, but to bring a lot in all in one go and expect them to hit the ground running is probably not fair on them.

How far can Carrick take Middlesbrough this season?

They’ve got to aim for the play-offs again. Last season they had an unbelievable run under him and played some great, free-flowing football.

For a new manager to do that so early in his career was very good. He improved a lot of players as well, the big one is Akpom. If he can get him and Archer back playing together, then all of a sudden the team looks a lot stronger this season.

How far can Carrick go as a manager?

Carrick can go very far. I played with him and I've watched him closely when I've been around Middlesbrough. He's so calm for a young manager. When you're younger you can make mistakes - even the best managers do it - and things can become a bit erratic if results aren't going well. But last season every time they lost, they bounced back and went on another amazing run.

He knows what he wants, he knows what to do. The players like him as well, he's got a good demeanour. He really cares about his players. I think he's got a good future.

Moving on to Blackburn, how do you rate their win over West Brom on the opening day after there was some pre-season negativity about their chances?

I was surprised, I'll be honest. I just think with the players that have lost – Bradley Dack would have been one of the biggest ones, along with other experienced players like Daniel Ayala and Ben Brereton Diaz, who was their biggest goal threat – I wasn’t expecting much.

It looked a bit like they were trying to cut their cloth accordingly and go with young players, which is fair enough, but I’m not sure Jon Dahl Tomasson liked that. I think he wanted to kick on and was a bit unsure on where the club were going to go. But I think this result just shows he's a good coach.

How much room for optimism should Blackburn fans have then?

Everyone will be looking at play-offs as a minimum, but like I said you’re missing big players from that dressing room that haven’t been replaced yet.

Sometimes it's alright having young players but you need that experience around you. The going gets tough because there will come a point when they're losing games. This is where your dressing room is a big part of it. I think if they get in the top half of the table, they’ll have had a good season.

Who are your picks to be promoted from the Championship this season?

I think Leicester and Southampton look the best equipped to go back up. They’ve both got good squads, they might lose a couple before the end of the window but I think they’ve recruited quite well and have got good managers. I think they could be first and second either way round.

Elsewhere, I’m looking at Stoke, I think that they’ll be strong this season. I think there's a reason why Alex Neil left Sunderland last season, which at the time looked a little bit mad. Watford will be around there too. But if you’re going for first and second then it’s Leicester and Southampton.

What’s changed at Watford that makes you think they’ll perform better?

I was listening to Valerien Ismael recently and he said that there had been a lack of discipline before he arrived. There’s obviously been a lot of chopping and changing before him, but I think he’s ruthless. I get the impression he wouldn’t be afraid to dress some players down and I think sometimes you have to do that as a manager.

Changing managers so often hasn’t been good for the club, but I get a good feeling about Ismael. He did well at Barnsley, getting them into the Championship play-offs in 2021, and they were difficult to play against. I remember playing against them when I was at Blackburn and it was tough. It’s not pretty on the eye but it gets results.

Who do you think will challenge for the play-offs?

I like Coventry. I know they’ve lost Viktor Gyokeres to Sporting, but they’ve replaced him with Ellis Simms and I like the way they play.

I remember watching them against Middlesbrough in the play-off semi-final last season and everyone expected them to get turned over, but they were so organised and well drilled. I think Mark Robins is a great manager too. He’s done amazingly well given the off-field circumstances at the club and, with the resources, he can continue his good work.

I’d like to see Plymouth do well as well because my mate Steven Schumacher is managing them and we played together in youth football. I’m not saying they’re going to win the league or get in the play-offs, but I think they’ll have a good first season back in the Championship.

Who are you picking to get relegated?

QPR have danced around it for the last couple of years and threatened to get relegated. Last season, I thought they got lucky, especially with other teams getting docked points. So QPR are my first pick.

Rotherham could struggle as well, I don’t think they have got the muscle to compete.

I know Neil Warnock has got a reputation of doing well with teams at the bottom end of the table, but I think Huddersfield will struggle to stay up this year.