The 49-year-old former footballer was playing for Liverpool when he was called up to represent his country in 2001, but such was the high standard of midfielders at the time, he didn’t think he’d even make it onto the pitch when he finally landed his first cap as a substitute in a 1-1 draw against Sweden in a friendly.

He told FourFourTwo magazine: “My England debut was the reward for the years of effort I put into being a footballer.

“We played Sweden at Old Trafford and I came off the bench.

“My family was there and I did some really good things – I got on the ball and made a difference.

“I’d always dreamed of playing for my country, but there were so many good players around – David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Frank Lampard, Steve Gerrard and Owen Hargreaves coming through – that I didn’t believe I’d be able to do it.

“Even when I was in the squad, it was nice, but I thought, ‘Am I going to play?’ I didn’t believe it until I got onto that pitch.”

On the club front, one of Danny’s favourite games was Liverpool’s 5-4 victory over Alaves in the 2001 UEFA Cup Final.

He said: “The final leg of the treble of three cups, after winning the League Cup and the FA Cup.

“An incredible game won with a golden goal – it was like a home match because there were so many Liverpool fans in Dortmund.

“Cruising at 3-1, we took our foot off the gas and it went to extra time, but I never felt like we were going to lose it.

“When the winner went in, I thought, ‘Have we won? Is it golden goal?’

“It was amazing to sing You’ll Never Walk Alone with the fans, and doing it all with the team you grew up supporting.

“But we couldn’t celebrate properly, as our last league game was a few days later.”