Wayne Hennessey has admitted that he used to look up to Shay Given during his days as an up and coming goalkeeper.
The Crystal Palace goalkeeper came through at Wolverhampton Wanderers, making 152 league appearances for the Molineux side before joining Palace in 2014.
Since then, he has played 130 times in all competitions for the Eagles, but has found himself among the substitutes more often than not this season, with Vicente Guaita establishing himself as Roy Hodgson's number one between the sticks.
But Hennessey has continued to play international football for Wales, and now has 89 caps at senior level for his country.
And the 33-year-old has spoken of what he used to learn from other goalkeepers - and one in particular who he looked up to - as he delivered a message for any youngsters wanting to wear the gloves.
“It’s just training, training, training; repetition was massive for me," Hennessey said, speaking to Palace's matchday programme in an interview that has been published by the club's website.
“As soon as I was home from school I was straight out on the field with four footballs and I’d aim for certain things with my kicks.
“But the swing is so important; if you master the technique via repetition then you end up learning what works for you.
“When I was young I looked up to someone like Shay Given but he’d have his own technique, so I worked on my own technique and that’s what you’ve got to do.”
Given played 462 times in all competitions for Newcastle United during a 12-year period with the club, while the Irishman also played in the Premier League for Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City, Aston Villa and Stoke City.
