"A lot more people will know about me going into the World Cup than they did before Euro 2004 and I'm sure at times other teams will try to intimidate me. But you've just got to deal with that. I'm getting better at that.
"Early on in my career I received a lot of bad press about my temperament. But I was only a young lad then.
"I am still young now but I have been playing professionally for four years and I am learning from every game I play. The more you learn, the better you become.
"I cannot wait for the World Cup to come around. Hopefully, from now until the end of the season I can keep myself fit, free from injury and can go to the World Cup fresh."
For those interested he assesses England's chances:
"I don't think we need to fear anyone. This is probably the best group of players we have had since 1966.
"There is a mixture of youth and experience in the team.
"We are going into every game confident we are going to win it and, hopefully, we will be in the same situation when the World Cup comes round."