A lot of players seem to pause during their penalty run-up, then miss. Do you think it sometimes puts the taker off as much as the goalkeeper?

Well, I think you get your own way of taking them, and some players like to do that and see what the goalkeeper’s going to do. But I don’t think there’s any given way of guaranteeing a goal, to be perfectly honest. You can try all the gimmicks you like, but I don’t think it’s going to make that much difference. The key thing is knowing what you’re going to do. Some players just watch the goalkeeper and don’t even watch the ball nowadays. That would make me quite nervous, but it seems to work for some of them.

Do you know how many penalties you missed in your career?

I don’t, I just know that I scored quite a few, but missed a few as well. The thing is, if you’re the penalty taker, you know that you will miss one or two at some stage. I remember missing one in a cup final, but we won anyway, thankfully. And I missed one to equal Bobby Charlton’s goalscoring record for England, and I never managed to do it after that. Having said that, I did score a few in World Cups and lots of them over the years.

In the 1990 World Cup quarter final against Cameroon, you got two penalties during the match. The first one went in the corner, but the second one went pretty much down the middle. Was that because you were scared you’d miss?

No, I took the first one in my usual manner, in the sense that I’d practised that particular penalty all week. But I saw as soon as I hit it that the keeper was diving and pretty much hit his head on the other post before it actually hit the net. I figured that he’d probably guess one way or the other again, so I thought the best bet was to hit it straight down the middle and he’d dive out of the way. Thankfully it worked out!

How do you look back on losing the semi-final penalty shoot-out now?

Well, it’s just one of those things. The Germans took five perfect penalties, and we scored our first three. Pearcey (left-back Stuart Pearce) was a bit unlucky with the blast down the middle that hit the keeper’s legs. That put a lot of pressure on Chris Waddle, who unfortunately hit it over. It’s the one thing where I look back on my career and think: “If only…”

Would you take Michael Owen to this year’s World Cup?

Well, Michael’s got to play first. He’s got to play consistently for Manchester United, so it’s a question that really needs addressing towards the end of the season. If it were tomorrow, you wouldn’t take Michael because he’s not played enough football. But if he does get a run of games, and remains fit, you’d imagine he would score goals and will make his claim for a place.

What about Darren Bent? His record for Sunderland this season is fantastic.

Yeah, he’s done really well. He’s been a consistent goalscorer, but if he gets a chance he really needs to grab it. He needs to prove himself for England, but there aren’t that many occasions left now where he’ll get the chance.

Argentina’s Diego Maradona scored a goal with his hand to knock England out of the 1986 World Cup. How do you feel about it now, after all these years?

Oh, it’s a long time ago now. It was just one of those things where everyone missed it, unfortunately. But he scored another goal in that game that was incredible.

That other goal often gets voted the best World Cup goal of all time. Is it one of your favourites?

I don’t know about favourites, but his second one was definitely the best World Cup goal I’ve ever seen, without a shadow of a doubt. But my favourite would probably be one of my own.

Which one in particular?
Any of them really! But probably the first one against Poland, because it was my first one. And I went on to get a hat-trick in that game, and it changed my life.

There’s been a lot of talk lately about Liverpool’s problems. Do you think one of the other Premier League teams could take their place in the ‘big four’?

They could do. It could be Spurs, Villa, Man City, but we’ll have to wait and see at the end of the season. But it’s made it very interesting this year that we’ve got different clubs challenging for the top four spots.

Is Alan Hansen a bit miserable backstage at Match of the Day when Liverpool play badly? (Hansen was at the club between 1977-1991)

Well, he’s always fairly miserable! But he’s not a very happy bunny at the moment, it has to be said.

Which player in the Premier League do you most like watching?

Rooney’s probably as good as it gets. Then Drogba’s a great player, and Torres when he’s fit. They’re probably the three I’d pick out.

I know you’ve been at some of Clic Sargent’s charity golf days too. Has your handicap improved much since you retired from football?

I only really started after I retired from football, so it improved quite a lot for a while. But I’ve not played a lot lately with this weather, that’s for sure. So my handicap is drifting around five, but I’m playing more like it’s 25!

Who’s the best golfer out of all the footballers you know?

Hansen’s a bloody good player, very consistent. He plays off a handicap of three. We’ve got a decent Match of the Day team actually. Lee Dixon’s pretty good as well, he’s off four, Shearer’s about the same as me, I think he’s on six, so we have some good competitive games.

We spoke to Gary at an event to launch CLIC Sargent's Kick for Children with Cancer campaign. To find out how you or your school can get involved with this very worthwhile cause, see www.clicsargent.org.uk/football.

Gary's top penalty tips:

Pick your spot and focus on exactly where you want the ball to go

Don't change your mind or get distracted

Don't worry about missing, and think positively

Remember to celebrate well!