Goalkeeping is so mental you've got to be focused all the time. You come off the pitch drained in a different way to an outfield player. You'd probably be more mentally drained.

Goalkeepers need to have some stability, some certainty and some freedom to make mistakes knowing that you're not going to have to pay the consequences, other than conceding a goal.

Copenhagen is my local club where I live in Denmark and is the club I've been to watch more than anybody else. But that's literally because the stadium is two minutes from my house.

My wife and I have already set up a charity back in Denmark - Fodbold Fonden - and now, through Common Goal, I have a great opportunity to give back in other areas of the world as well.

If you have got pace and awareness of where you want the ball and where you want to go yourself, you are getting in positions behind defenders and that is what defenders want the least.

I might not be very approachable because through my whole life, from when I was eight years old, I had people camping behind my goal and hearing the whispers, 'It's Peter Schmeichel's son.'

It's good when a manager names his goalkeeper and backs him. That's the sort of thing you want. You want to know you've got that backing and you're not one mistake away from getting dropped.

It is a very common thing that players do, to live away from their clubs. You have families and if they are settled somewhere, I don't see any reason they should uproot everything just for you.

The surname's definitely not been a help, that's for sure, but it's got no relevance to me at all. That's my name, I've always fielded those questions from the media, but I just get on with it.

So the difference between goalkeepers and outfielders is the little, tiny, minute details which are the difference and when they go against you, they are really glaring and they will be spotted.

To me, as a keeper, you don't learn anything from sitting in the stands collecting a paycheck. You don't learn from eating the organic lunches at the buffet, you know what I mean? You can only learn from experience.

The way Ederson plays is so brave. To dare to play like that is bravery and it also enables City to play with a much higher press. They are able to really press because they know any ball in behind he will sweep up.

The crazy thing about my story is that I only came to Leicester City because Leeds didn't want me. A lot of footballers say that, and it's almost a cliche. But the chairman literally told me that they didn't want me.

Watching people like my dad, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham and Eric Cantona every day in training was incredible. I saw how hard they worked, the perfectionism and absolute dedication required to reach the top.

Even when I was down in the fourth division with Bury at 19, fighting off relegation, training in a local park with dogs running around everywhere, literally stepping over broken bottles to take a goal kick - I was learning.

When you go out on loan it's not the glitz and glamour, there's nowhere near the amount of money there is at the top level. People's livelihoods are on the line, mortgages and families. You are making decisions which can affect people.

I've played in nearly every league and country on these islands, apart from League One. I've played in Scotland, I've played in Wales, in the Premier League and in the Championship. I've been lucky to get a broad footballing education.

Notts County were League Two and they had they great plans. Things were happening and I was like 'wow these guys are serious.' It was a mad season because we were flying private jets to game. It was all a farce and I had signed a five-year contract.

In Europe, you are taught to keep the ball out of the net any way possible. That's why Germany and Spain have the best goalkeepers in the world. They give young goalkeepers a chance and accept they are going to make mistakes. Long term, that will reap huge rewards.

I think the Nigel Pearson, on the outside in the media seat, is very, very different to the guy that we see on a daily basis. I've said many times that he's the best manager that I've ever played under and creates a great atmosphere and platform for his players to start to perform.

When I was a kid and my dad was playing for Man United, I used to stand behind the goal watching Eric Cantona, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Mark Hughes, Andrei Kanchelskis, Ryan Giggs... and I used to try to save all their shots that went wide, imagining I was deciding the title for United.

My world, the world that I have grown up in, is very different. I have had intrusions from the outside since the day I was born because of my dad. Always wanting to talk to you. A lot of players only get that when they turn pro so the first 18 years of their life were the same as any other person's.

When you're a kid you want to be a striker, you want to be scoring goals. I still want to be scoring goals! It's the easiest part of football, no it's not, it's the best part of football - the one you enjoy the most. But I always knew that my particular skill set was more suited to being a goalkeeper.

This is Joe Hart we're talking about. People have very, very short memories. This is a guy who has won the league with Manchester City, has won the Golden Gloves I don't know how many times, and has 80 caps for England, so people have got to remember what and who he is and treat him with more respect.

He has nothing to do with me and football really. I don't see any need for us to start talking about football. Some players have relationships with their fathers where they talk football and get into arguments about it. It is something we have never done. It is just a natural thing, he is my dad and not my coach.

Football was so over-awing, so intense, just everything in your life. You couldn't go anywhere, really, with my dad and the circus around football became too much for me at a young age. I fell back in love with it probably around 13-14. It was much to do with the camaraderie, the team-work and being part of a team.

The pressure of being a goalkeeper is one of those things that attracts a lot of people to the position, if you don't have that, if you don't enjoy that pressure, I don't think you're suited to playing goalkeeper. It's about being strong mentally, being able to see the difference between making honest mistake and silly mistakes.

Opposition fans try to get under my skin by singing, 'You'll never be your father' - and they are quite right, I never will be as good as him. But I would still love to make a name for myself, aim to play at the highest level possible, and prove that sons who follow their dads into the same business need not walk in their shadows.

Manuel Neuer changed the game completely, probably back in about 2010 at the World Cup. He had been playing as a sweeper keeper before but it was something completely new to see it to that extent for Bayern Munich and for Germany. Both his coaches, Joachim Low and Pep Guardiola; they utilised the fact that he was brave enough to do that.

I came across a picture of myself back at Old Trafford stood next to the Premier League trophy. One of my friends said to me, 'Do you honestly think you will ever win it?' I said I had dreamed about it, but wasn't sure. He said, 'If you don't believe it, it will never happen.' From that moment I said I would believe it could happen one day.

Share This Page