So, I?m a cult hero. Wow, what can I say about that?

I can say that I was truly honoured to make my way into the Manchester City Hall of Fame as a ?Cult Hero? last week.

It was a bit strange because I knew I couldn?t make it to the event ?cos I was back here in Bermuda so I had to record a message.

In fact, I actually had to record two messages, one to say thanks for the nomination and another saying thank you in case I won. They couldn?t tell me if I was in or not so I had to do both ? fortunately they used the right one on the night!

It?s a great honour for me and, as I draw to the end of my professional career, I know I can look back with fondness on my days at City.

You will always have a certain love for a club in your career but you can?t have those same feelings for all of the teams you play for, but my time at City was something special and I would go as far to say that I am a fan now and I could never have such a bond with any other team.

What happened to me at City was something special. We had some good times, we had some bad times but over the years I developed a relationship with the fans that I will always treasure.

To be honest, one of my best memories of the club is after I left. I was at Reading but wasn?t playing so went up for the derby game. As footballers we go to matches and sometimes a few people recognise you and say hello but I never expected what happened to me that day.

I just wanted to go along and watch the game and see the fans doing what they do best. I wore a cap but it didn?t take long until I was recognised and then I got mobbed. It was amazing to see the sense of affection they all still had for me but what was even more amazing was to be there with the fans, absorbing the atmosphere, singing the songs and feeling what they feel as they watch their team.

What always made City fans so special for the players was that whether we were winning or losing, and there were some times when we didn?t seem to be doing anything else, they would just keep coming back.

They might not always be happy with us but they would come back and would come back in their numbers even during the really bad times and that is what made the good times so great for all of us.

I think sometimes about how I got to have such a great relationship with the fans ? and I know some of it was because my name fitted so easily into their chants ? and I think some of it was because of me.

What I mean by that is that when you get to the top level, a lot of players become untouchable, they don?t stop and sign the autographs, they think ?if I sign this kid?s shirt, I will have to sign everyone?s?, they don?t care if the fans have waited 30 minutes for them after the game, they just want to get in their big cars and zoom off.

I always made a point of trying not to change, I still wanted to sign the autographs and still chat to the fans and say thank you to them for their support. I think by doing that it helped them appreciate that I was just an honest, hard-working player ? on and off the field.

Although we had some great times, there were also some tough times, particularly at first.

I remember when I wasn?t so popular, when I could sense that people didn?t want me there.

But it is like riding a bike, if you fall off you have to get right back on and try again. There were plenty of times when I messed up, dusted myself down and made sure I didn?t fall again.

I have to thank Joe Royle for standing by me as well, that made me strive to succeed, I wanted to show him and I wanted to show the fans that I was a good player, that I could do the job and I deserved to play for their team.

The hard work paid off and I?m delighted with the way things worked out. I will always be a City fan and will always have wonderful memories of my time with that great team and those great fans.