‘My last five England caps were under five bosses but injuries don’t define me’

Darren Anderton made over 500 career appearances and played for England across a span of eight years – but that isn't how most fans remember him.

Now 51 and splitting his time between Europe and California, Anderton looks back on his career with pride despite being labelled with the nickname of 'sick note' by the uninformed.

Anderton made over 20 league appearances in 15 of his 19 seasons as a professional and played under six different England managers – but five different bosses across his final five caps.

The Tottenham icon, who retired at Bournemouth in 2008, played 16 times under Terry Venables before featuring 10 times under the guidance of Glenn Hoddle.

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He then featured once under caretaker boss Howard Wilkinson, as well as managing single appearances under Kevin Keegan and Peter Taylor before being handed a final outing by Sven-Goran Eriksson in 2001.

Speaking exclusively to Daily Star Sport in his role with AceOdds, Anderton said: "I think it goes without saying that my injuries were highlighted by the media and everything else.

"And during probably my peak years when I'm in the England team and World Cups and Euro 96, I had injuries leading up to both tournaments.

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"So of course, it was always mentioned back in those days. Unfortunately, that's kind of stuck with me. Whenever I do anything these days, it always comes up.

"But I know that I played a hell of a lot of games that we're very proud of and injuries are all part of the game. I think we see that now with much bigger squads, much better medical care and diagnosis and rehab of injuries.

"It's an unfortunate part of the game and where I was at certain times in my career, I definitely didn't get the right advice in order to get myself back on the pitch as soon as possible."

Anderton is remember fondly by Spurs fans thanks to his 358 appearances for the club as well as 48 goals, winning the League Cup in 1998/99 under George Graham.

The playmaker had spells with Birmingham City and Wolves before moving to the south coast, scoring a memorable winning goal on his final appearance.

Coming off the bench in the League Two fixture, Anderton fired home from outside the box to hand the Cherries all three points against Chester City.

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