"I had some great friends there but it was also exciting because I had to go and establish myself as a footballer," he recalls. "It was easy for me at Liverpool, I had all my friends there.
"It was time for me to get out and be a man, grow up and it happened. I went from being at a club that was used to winning most weeks to one that could hardly win a game.
"It brought the best out of me. I don't have any regrets about leaving Liverpool."