It wasn't a monkey on my back, it was Planet of the Apes.

At the moment we've only got 16 first-team players and my initials stand for Mick McCarthy, not Merlin the Magician (the new Wolves manager gets the excuses in early!)

I had a nice time over Christmas. I watched EastEnders - blimey, that makes my job look easy!

Inter have bought the finished article and there's no doubt he can keep improving.

No regrets, none at all. My only regret is that we went out on penalties. That's my only regret but no, no regrets.

I was feeling as sick as the proverbial donkey.

We're football people, not poets, but obviously I'm disappointed with the result.

The funny thing about mundies is how obsessed with magic they are for a bunch of people who don't even know what the word means.

The real discoverer of South America was [Alexander von] Humboldt, since his work was more useful for our people than the work of all conquerors.

I will go out of my way to avoid the shopping crowds and the extreme consumerism - I hate all that.

I invented my life because I wasn't pleased with it.

Understanding isn't learned from punishment and anger. An iron has no gentle touch, and love ain't learned from hate.

Expectations destroy our peace of mind. They are future disappointments, planned out in advance.

I do not consider myself at work unless I am before a six-foot canvas.

A thorn can only be extracted if you know where it is.

There are few, I believe, in this enlightened age, who will not acknowledge that slavery as an institution is a moral and political evil.

Our profession is very much like going to a cocktail party, you check out the guest list.