“I certainly hadn’t just come home to London for one, final pay-day – that’s definitely not what I’m about!” he explained. “At Coventry, Nottingham Forest and Newcastle, I’d always wanted to give value for money and West Ham was no exception. But it was really disappointing to have started so well in those opening four-and-a-half matches before missing most of my first season with two broken legs.
“With his brilliant piece of man-management, Harry Redknapp gave me a chance of another season and, thankfully, I managed to play 42 games second time around, missing just four matches.
“We reached the quarter-finals of both the FA Cup and Worthington Cup, while finishing 15th in the Premier League after a season that saw Rio Ferdinand – the best one-on-one defender I ever played with – sold to Leeds United and several new faces arrive, before Harry also departed after our penultimate match of the season!
“With the likes of Joe Cole, Michael Carrick, Paolo Di Canio, Freddie Kanouté, Trevor Sinclair and Frank Lampard around, there was still a lot of talent in that squad so it was a massive honour to be voted Hammer of the Year by the Club’s supporters just after my 39th birthday.
“I know exactly what makes up this Football Club’s DNA. It was fantastic to get that opportunity to come and play 50 matches for West Ham United during those two seasons. We certainly crammed a lot in!”