It was essentially a World Cup style tournament for players under 21 years old and was a lovely experience topped off when we beat West Germany 2-1 in the final.

I don’t know what you get for winning a World Cup these days, but we each received a watch - an illustration of how times have changed. Although I suppose I do have the honour of being able to lay claim to being a World Cup winner of sorts - even if I didn’t get my hands on the big one.

My ongoing success allowed me to keep one thing quiet at this time - namely the fact that my vision was really poor and I needed to wear glasses. For a time I tried wearing contact lenses during games but in those days they were very primitive and I found them uncomfortable to wear.

They also kept popping out - especially when I headed the ball, so in the end I stopped using them. Obviously laser surgery wasn’t an option in those days, so I had no alternative but to play with less than perfect vision.

Things were fine close up, but play at a distance was very blurred - for example I often saw ‘double’ and I sometimes saw what appeared to be two players running with the ball at me.

Fortunately I always tackled the correct one and it was never something that became an issue. In a funny way I actually think it made me a better player; as it improved my awareness and intuition and I developed a sixth sense about where I should be.

That said, I certainly didn’t want it to become public knowledge; it could have given opposition players an advantage, so I kept it quiet and continued with the job in hand - namely playing football. It was around this time that the club also began looking at things like training and diet.

I had up until this point always enjoyed eating a fillet steak for my pre-match meal - as had a few of the other players. However the boss (Bobby Robson) discovered that they took up to eight hours to digest and as a result was keen to put a stop to it all.

I was always mindful of how it had been back home in Carlisle when a meal could be a rarity and so when there was good food on the table I was always first in the queue. The big meals wouldn’t work for everyone, but they were certainly doing me no harm and in my opinion it really is a case of each to their own, so I kept my steak dinners going and the boss turned a blind eye to things.

I also remember once speaking to Ted Phillips - the great Ipswich Town striker from the 1960s and he told me his pre-match meal often consisted of: sausage, eggs, beans and chips…

Not long afterwards, I was told to get hold of a dinner suit and bow-tie - as the function was to be held at the prestigious Hilton Hotel in London. Upon our arrival, we were seated in a large ballroom - which was a very luxurious affair and it was only then that I was told by the boss that I had been nominated for an award and I had a great chance of winning it.

He was correct: later on I was called up onto the stage by Don Revie - who told me that I had won the inaugural PFA Young Footballer of the year trophy.

It was a fantastic accolade to have bestowed upon me and it is one which has subsequently been awarded to some truly magnificent footballers: with the likes of Paul Gascoigne; Ryan Giggs, Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney also winning the award. I was thrilled - not only at the nature of such a terrific prize, but also because I didn’t know anything about it and so it was totally unexpected.

Whilst on stage, Mr Revie again told me how told me how much he rated me as a player and that he thought I would have a long and illustrious career at international level which was also great to hear.

When I returned to my seat, I was also told that I had made the PFA team of the season - as voted for by my fellow professionals. It meant that I was rated by the opposition and not just my teammates - which obviously meant a lot to me.

I was to be subsequently awarded this honour every season for the next three years which should how well and consistent I played during this time. A couple of days later I also won the Rothman Young Footballer of the year award - so all in all, it was a fantastic season for me.