There were tears when he scored his first goal in an FA Cup fourth-round victory against Fulham, and then came the 1-0 victory over Man City. “The first ball I challenged for that night was against [Vincent] Kompany. I went in with all my strength and I just bounced off him. I went in with everything and couldn’t move him.
“I had a header which the defender who used to player for Everton [Joleon Lescott] cleared off the line. It was a night you dream of. It was how a night match should be – all the fans behind you, chasing for every last ball, hanging on, waiting for the clock tick down. I was man of the match and they gave me champagne.”