When I was eight I didn't know very much about football. I liked Liverpool FC but I wasn't really that interested and I played it occasionally but it is difficult when you have been through two major heart operations and I had missed out on playing when I was younger so everyone else was better than me.

One day my Dad phoned me from work and asked to speak to me. He told me that I was going to be mascot for Liverpool FC in the semi-final of the FA Cup. I'm not sure if I got to be mascot because of my heart condition or because my Dad was one of the biggest retailers of Candy merchandise - the sponsors at the time; it could be both. I remember the phone call so vividly, I was excited but at the same time really scared.

These feelings only got worse up to the day. My brother and sister were packed off to a friends house and me and my parents traveled to Birmingham; Villa Park, the home of Aston Villa to be more specific. We stopped on the way and met up with some people from the club who gave me the football kit that I would be wearing on the day; I still have it now and it is tiny.

I had never been to a football match before that and the noise when I arrived at the ground was enormous. I don't remember much about arriving apart from the noise, the next thing I remember is meeting the opposing mascot. Liverpool were playing Crystal Palace that day and he was a proper Cockney, I didn't like him much but he probably thought the same about me.

As I left the changing room I overheard the ball-boys getting shouted at by someone and thanked god that I wasn't one of them. I met my Dad outside the changing room and we gave an interview to the reporter who wanted to know what my name was. He scrawled it on his match programme and then ran off to start filming. The TV camera was turned on in front of me and it was the most blinding light, I'm surprised anyone opens their eyes on television.

Somewhere around this point I was introduced to Alan Hansen, he was really nice with me and said that he would look after me. The next part of the story is kind of a blur in my memory as I walked out in front of 40,000 screaming fans; there were balloons everywhere, and the sights, sounds and smells were just too much for an 8 year-old boy, I was in a dreamworld.

I remember standing in the centre-circle whilst the coin-toss was taken and having my photo taken with the captains and the referees. I also remember having three shots against Bruce Grobelaar, one of the greatest Liverpool keepers of all time. He saved my first two shots easily, mainly because they were easy to save. He then told me to go for his left side because he wasn't as good on his left side so I did and he let it in. I scored against Bruce Grobelaar, woohoo.

I was then taken over to the dugout were I had my picture taken with Kenny Dalgleish and Ronnie Moran. This picture and the one from the centre-circle I still have at home. I then went inside for kickoff and got changed, I came back 15 minutes later to see that Ian Rush, our best player had been taken off injured.

We lost the match in extra time and every goal was scored on Bruce Grobelaar's left side which I blamed myself for for some time after the event. I was then invited to Liverpool's next home game were I had dinner with the players and got my picture taken with the newly won Charity Shield. This was some experience for an 8 year old and I have loved football ever since.