I know we all must make sacrifices for success

Posted Saturday, May 05, 2012 by The Sun

FOCUS ... Spurs star Kyle Walker

KYLE WALKER has worked far too hard to fail.

It seems extraordinary that, after such a successful season, he would even contemplate failure, let alone talk about it.

After all, he has just signed a new contract at Tottenham until 2017 and been crowned PFA Young Player of the Year ahead of the likes of Sergio Aguero and Danny Welbeck.

But the 21-year-old — who will appear in his 48th game of the season when Tottenham face Aston Villa tomorrow — refuses to accept he has already made it and that he no longer has to work hard as a result.

The Sheffield-born right-back said: “I’ve strived to be the best I can and worked tirelessly to make it — but I would never take what I have achieved so far for granted.

“The moment you become complacent and get ahead of yourself you face the threat of throwing it all away. And I could never do that. I couldn’t let people down who have made so many sacrifices to get me where I am.

“Naturally I’m proud of what I have achieved so far but I’m still young and still learning. And I don’t think I will stop learning even when I eventually stop playing.

“Even now I’m one of the last to leave training because I want to improve. I’m determined to become the very best I can and that will only come with hard work, determination and commitment. I look at players like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and even they say they can improve. Let’s face it, we are all human and there is no such thing as perfection.”

Walker admits he prefers home life to nightlife.

He declared: “Partying is not for me. I prefer a quiet life. I have a long-term girlfriend and a new baby boy so my focus is on other areas of my life.

“I wouldn’t want to find myself in the papers for all the wrong reasons.

“If I go out it’s for a quiet meal with friends and family and then I head home.

“You have to make certain sacrifices in life if you want to achieve things and going out partying until the early hours of the morning isn’t something I approve of.

“I can’t lose sight of the fact that I don’t just owe it to myself to behave in an appropriate manner, but I’m also conscious that I’m a role model for young kids and have a moral responsibility to behave and set the right example. Fortunately I have some very good people around me, like my agent Mark Rankine at Base Soccer Agency, who has been with me since I was 16 and made sure I kept on the straight and narrow.

“And my parents were extremely strict and brought me up the right way.