Two goals in his first two England games was a perfect way for Rickie Lambert to burst on to the international scene.
But it’s been a long journey for the 31-year-old striker. Here he plots his path from Shevington Park to full England honours...
"I remember playing football in the street when I was growing up and also the first training session I went to with a proper team. I was about eight. I can still remember the butterflies I had going to training.
It has been a long road to the top for Rickie Lambert
"My first team was Shevington Park in Kirkby. They were a great side. My next door neighbour Leon Edwards was playing for them in goal, so I think that’s the reason why I went along and I was with them for five years. The manager was John Jones and his son played for us, too. But all the parents gave their input, it was very competitive, but we were also very successful. I loved every minute of it.
"It was a year or two after I joined and we got to a local final, which we won. A Liverpool scout was watching the game and must have thought I was all right as they asked me to go for a trial. Obviously the standard there was high. I was a massive Liverpool fan so it meant everything to me to have a chance with them. It was a very exciting time.
"I was 10 years old when I joined Liverpool and I was one of the best players in the group. But by the time I was 15 I wasn’t one of the better ones, so they let me go, which I kind of saw coming anyway. A few of my friends were being let go and though I managed to stay on a little bit longer, in the end they said ‘good luck for the future’ and I was on my way. I was absolutely devastated.
"One of my friends who also left Liverpool at the same time went on to Blackpool. So my first thought was to go there. I spent two years with them and I was doing really well. I think Nigel Worthington really liked me but then Steve McMahon took over and he just focused on my fitness, which wasn’t good. I must say it was shocking for a 17-year-old. I was completely off it. At the time I didn’t really know how to be professional and he said for that reason he was letting me go.
“Scoring the winner against Scotland was the best moment of my career by a mile”
Rickie Lambert
"After leaving Blackpool, I always wanted to get back into it, but I found it hard after a few clubs said no. I was always thinking ‘am I going to get another chance’. I was training at Macclesfield for what seemed like ages and they kept saying that they couldn’t offer me a contract. I needed some money, I needed a job. I was getting paid very little for travel expenses.
"A year later I went to Stockport, who paid £300,000, which was a lot of money. That put pressure on me, but overall it went ok. The first year wasn’t too good, but the second year was better. I got player of the season and leading goalscorer. What a lot of people don’t realise is that I was a central midfielder. However, the third season went completely wrong for me, which was probably the lowest point in my career. I was so low in confidence, the team were at the bottom and fans started to get on our backs and I think it affected me personally. Halfway through the third season they let me go to Rochdale.
"I dropped down a division at Rochdale, and I wasn’t even bothered. At that stage I wasn’t thinking that I could one day be playing in the Premier League or anything like that, I just wanted to go somewhere where I could enjoy my football. Steve Parkin was the only manager that wanted me and we hit it off straight away. I went there to try and fall in love with football again and I did.
"I was at Rochdale for a year and a half and it was deadline day in 2006 when Bristol Rovers came in for me. That was a very stressful time and I had to decide in the space of three or four hours if I wanted to move. I felt there was more chance of getting to League One and higher with Rovers, but it didn’t start well there either. I was unfit and missed some of the pre-season at Rochdale, so I went to Rovers out of shape and it took me half a season to catch up.
"But it was at Rovers was where I got my name as a goalscorer and striker and three years later I did well enough for Southampton to come in for me. Since then everything changed. My first season in the Premier League was great, but I did feel disappointed in some games. There were a few times I didn’t score as often as I’d hoped, but just playing in the Premier League is a dream come true and something I never thought was going to happen.
"It got even better in August when I made my debut for England against Scotland and scored the winner. It was the best moment of my career by a mile. Everything was leading up to that moment so to get the winner was unbelievable. I was hoping to go on at half-time but when the chance finally came I was ready for it, and I was eager to get on the pitch and try and do something. I knew it might have been my only chance and I knew I had to take it. I didn’t quite imagine it to happen the way it did, with my first touch, but my main thing was to try and impress.
"The chance came from a Leighton Baines corner. He grew up near me in Liverpool. I knew he was a very good player and we’d played against each other when he was with Wigan and I was with Stockport. Even before those days I knew of him. We didn’t hang around but it’s nice to see him do so well.
"Like everyone else in the squad, I’d love to play at the World Cup. It’s a dream and is something I’ll be fighting for but there’s still work to do. I’ll be focused on working hard to try and keep impressing the gaffer and if we can qualify, who knows what’s around the corner?"
