How did you become and apprentice with the Gulls?
I joined the Brighton Centre of Excellence when I was about 15. I was regularly playing games on weekends when I was about 17 and at the end of the year they chose 6 players to go to become apprentices and I was fortunate enough to be one of them out of about 15 and 20 of us that were being considered.

Did you know you were good enough at the time to expect to get picked?
It's always in your mind wondering who's better than who. I think the way the season had gone back then I would have been disappointed not t have got taken on full time.

And what's happened to the other six that got picked back then, are they still here?
Adam Hinchelwood is still here, he's doing well in the first team also doing well at the moment. Darren Beck was here until recently unfortunately he was released a while ago.

What about your family were they happy for you to pursue a career that could easily turn sour at the beginning?
My mum and dad were terrific despite being a little bit worried about the education side of things. I left school quite early to do this three year apprenticeship at the club, but I was fortunate enough to come through that. That club was also very helpful as well through out the whole time I was here.

Education can't have seemed very important at the time though when all you want to do is get through the apprenticeship and play football full-time.
Leaving further education behind is a risk you;you've got to take because you might not have anything to fall back on if you don't make it as a player. But if you really enjoy football and want to be professional it's a risk you've got to take. The apprentices education now is much better than it used to be five or six years ago so there is an opportunity to get an education and play football at the same time.

What was the hardest thing about being an apprentice?
You have to give up a lot as a teenager.
You can't go out with your friends and it's hard to hear stories of their nights out when you've just been sitting at home preparing and resting for training or a game the next day. But we always know that the rewards are there if you stay disciplined and work hard enough. For me now all that hard work is paying off at the moment and hopefully in the future it will pay even more!

Did you ever consider what happen to you if you didn't tun professional after the apprenticeship?
That's the big worry that's always on your mind, but ultimately you've got to back it to the back of your mind and get on with your football. I don't have a clue what I'd be doing if I wasn't getting paid to play!

You haven't just made it as a pro footballer but you've also turned international for the England under 21's, how do that come about?
I got a call one day from a woman saying she was from the FA saying that I'd been selected for the England squad. First off I thought it was a joke. I thought one of the lads had got their girlfriend to wind me up. So I went home still not quite sure and I looked up the list on the Internet and saw I really was in the squad! I was delighted.

As an apprentice at the age of 15, did you expect to be playing for your country 5 years later?
No that was the last thing on my mind that it would really happen. Obviously back then it was just a dream, but it came true for me.

After achieving a lot already do you still strive to improve your game?
Of course, I'm still fighting to stay in the team every week, you've got to prove yourself no one has a place set in the team everyone has to demonstrate to each other, themselves and the gaffer to show they're good enough to start each game.