I've come a different path to some and, while I respect everyone else's 100 per cent, I'm proud of mine. I'm proud of where I've come from and where I am trying to get to.
The job is always with you, 24/7. I played over 400 games as a player and the highs aren't as high when you win and when you're a player the low isn't as low when you get beaten. It really spikes and dips as a manager.
I'm one who will go and have a beer with my pals on a Sunday afternoon. I'll go on a Friday night and have an hour with my pals, lads that I've knocked about with for 20-25 years.
I've always said that I'm an employee and I respect that status but I'm the type of guy who walks in the front door and I'll walk out the front door if it's not right.
It all goes back to the players putting everything out on the pitch. They commit to the game, so the support gets behind them straight away. They don't see half-hearted performances, they don't see people that are not running around. They see players competing, putting in the effort and enthusiasm.
Dave Bassett was a key influence on me, the way he treated and talked to people. Wimbledon and Sheffield United were quite direct sides and he got the best out of what he had, but he was an innovator.
You can't sit back, rest on laurels and think about the past - what the journey has been.
I can't stop people talking and linking me with teams I've played for.
I don't want it to be a holiday camp, but it shouldn't be a concentration camp either. It is about getting the balance right with my relationship with them. I will do anything for the players but I'm not their pal as well.
We are not trying to reinvent the wheel. Sometimes it goes well, sometimes you have your off days. We have a way of going about things. Basically we are positive people trying to improve players and teams.
Sheffield has everything as far as I'm concerned and the football club is right in the heart of it.
Certainly Sheffield United have been a good fit for me.
I don't want it to be comfortable for players to step in, stroll about and walk away with three points. But there won't be any old-school flat balls, cold tea or wet floors.
Togetherness is huge. I just can't see anybody getting results in team sport without being together.
My first job was at Alfreton Town and the chairman backed the club. He wanted to win so it made the job easier. I then went to Halifax, where I turned up and there was no balls, no training ground, no players. I had the other side of it.
I've come across people who look smart in a suit who haven't really got a lot underneath. Football is an unforgiving business and you're easily found out if you're a bit of a fraud.
