BOXING Day fixtures are the ones I always look forward to, as you probably find there's more turkeys about then than on Christmas Day itself.

You always look for that funny result, the real thrashing that tells you which club's players were out until 5am at a party the day before.

I remember when I was up at Newcastle and we played Stoke twice in a week, so the players stayed there from the weekend right through to the Wednesday.

They made the most of the holiday because when they turned up for the game

most of them were still drunk.

But that was a long time ago and players drink very, very little these days, especially on the day before a game.

It's a bit more professional now.

I wasn't too bad myself. I'd have a glass of champagne with my Christmas lunch but that was about it.

I never over-indulged, but that wasn't true of all the players I played with. We used to turn up on Boxing Day and see some right states!

That's why it's such a difficult time for managers.

But with the money players get paid now, you wouldn't want to put that at risk, you'd want to be fully professional and part of the team and the squad.

So you should certainly expect the players to be extremely professional nowadays in everything they do.

But they are so lucky with the life they get with the adulation and rewards that were certainly missing when I was playing 15 years ago.

It's always been one of the best jobs being a footballer and now I can't think of a job you would rather have.

So it's worth easing off just a bit at Christmas - and these days you're safe in the knowledge you can always enjoy it during your comfortable retirement.

A Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year to all Evening Telegraph readers.