Interview With Jermaine Jenas

RWD's resident Gooner Danny Walker, sits down with England and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder, Jermaine Jenas, at the launch of PSP Go!Messenger. The meeting of minds drifts from iPod (rammed with everything from grime to The Kooks), to his new baby girl (who’s made him a changed man), and why the digital version of him on Pro Evo looks ‘a bit funny’...

Hey Jermaine... how's it going?
Yeah, I'm good.

On behalf of the Spurs fans in the office, well done winning the Carling Cup. How would you rate your season?
[Smiles] There have been a lot of highs and a few lows. It's hard to look at it as a bad season cos you know, we won a trophy, but we have underachieved in the league.

And on a personal level?
It's been good. I got back into the England team; I scored in my first game under Fabio Capello, so I'd say it's been a good year.

Was scoring for England one of your biggest achievements?
It's definitely up there. Just getting the shirt was a great feeling and to do it at Wembley as well was great.

So, what were the lows?
We had a bad start to the season and unfortunately lost our manager Martin Jol, but our new manager [Juande Ramos] came in and he has done fantastic for us. So it’s been mixed.

You mentioned winning a trophy was obviously a high - sorry I'm an Arsenal fan by the way...
I thought you might be [laughs].

What was that actually like?
[Smiles] It was phenomenal. It was massive. You have to remember last year Arsenal... you lot [gives me stare], knocked us out. It wasn't nice. That stuck in our minds so we went out and just attacked both games and got what we deserved.

What made you want to play football?
For me it was Italia 90. When I saw England vs. Germany I think that was the day when I fell in love with football.

What’s your iPod saying? What is on there, now?
All sorts mate, all sorts. I've got hip hop - Jay-Z and Nas who I love - to things like The Kooks, Athlete, some Dizzee, some Wiley, some Skepta is on there too, trust me.

So you’re aware of the whole grime scene?
I've touched on it a little bit, at one stage nearly all of us in the England team and at club level were watching all the battles.

Apparently Shaun Wright-Phillips was hooking everyone up?
Yeah, him and Bentley. Bentley is deep on it to be fair. He used to bring in all the mad videos with the people battling and that...

Everyone hears footballers get a load of girls...
To be honest I've been with my girl now since school. I met her when she was a fifth year in college and I was a fourth year. So I have been with her since day really. She has helped me stay focused and do what I do. We've got a little girl now so...

So how do you relax? Do you play computer games?
Everyone is on Pro Evo. We have tournaments and stuff.

Who’s the best?
[Modestly] I can't help but put myself up there. To be fair when we were at the World Cup, Azza (Aaron Lennon) gave me an absolute hiding. He's never ever let me forget either. But yeah, me and him are probably top boys.

Who do you stick up front?
Henry goes on the right and then I put Sammy Eto up front. He's causes havoc up there, raw power and pace.

What do you think of the digital Jermaine Jenas?
He looks a bit funny; I'm not going to lie. The lads were telling me my lips were maybe a little bit too big, but it's all good. I just edit it quick.

Thanks Jermaine and good luck. But not with Tottenham...
[Laughs].

Jermaine took part in the first ever virtual dinner party for the launch of PSP Go!Messenger, which allows users to voice, video and text chat via the Internet. Check gopspgo.com

Who would you go Head2Head with?
Probably Nelson Mandela. We went to his house with England and we all got to meet him. He was amazing. If you think about what he has done in his life, you couldn't even touch it in a Messenger conversation. It would be amazing.

And some raw video footage to go with. Warning, RWD did not film or edit the following clip...