'Basically they go in and at a very young age they're put on money that is so good that they, kind of, felt that they've made it.

'But I spoke also to Paul Corry about it today and Paul's career was done for injury but he was talking about a guy who came in on loan from Sheffield Wednesday when he was there - never played for Chelsea and was basically a higher earner than anyone in the Sheffield Wednesday squad. 'And he spoke of lads being on £17,000 a week without even playing once for Chelsea and it's the notion of the flash gear on you and the nice cars and all that. 'I met Conor last year after he'd been done for a betting ban - he was done for 8 months and I thought he was one of the nicest lads I've ever met but it was clear that the money had gone to his head at that time. 'I actually spoke to a teammate of his previously and he didn't particularly like him and I said I didn't get that impression from Conor at all like he thought he was a bit of a 'Big Time Charlie' when he was at Chelsea and Conor's from Palmerstown. 'But I've spoken to a few people in the League of Ireland who've had the experience of being to England - Conor Clifford was one that I spoke to this year. Seamus Coleman spoke out recently about the lack of ambition younger players have nowadays and Ward explained: 'He's come from a Gaelic Football playing background, played for Sligo Rovers and spoke of when he went over to Everton - he really had to graft. He was single-minded in terms of the work he had to do.

Johnny Ward joined Saturday's Off the Ball to analyse the Premier League action and talk soon turned to the amount of money younger players are now receiving and how it's affecting their long-term goals.

Football Manager 2007 Indowebster