The Vital Interview: Manuel Almunia

MANUEL ALMUNIA is long enough in the tooth to understand what is important in football.

So, when it came to moving this summer, he had no hestitation in swapping Arsenal for Watford:

"ON the pitch you have to do the same. If you look at things outside of the pitch then you`d say the Championship is rubbish, it`s not good here for me. But you only have to see the ball and the pitch and it`s good for me.

"What players are you playing against? If you see that, you`re dead. Football, the Premier League won`t wait for you," admits the 35 year-old gloveman.

The former Arsenal number one is articulate and well-reasoned as he emphasises the importance of regular game time.

"Football is the most important thing - to be in the spotlight; to be on the pitch every week. If you cannot play for your team it`s great to play on loan anywhere because being on the field is the most important thing, where everybody can see you.

"If you are with Real Madrid but you are always on the bench, or not even in the squad, nobody can see you."

Right now the former Celta Vigo man is in the spotlight once again for all the right reasons, captaining the Hornets to seventh in the league was well as being a league ever-present.

Remember! This is only an extract. The full feature-length Vital Interview will be in today's matchday programme.