Sometimes, people go nuts on the show: John Dykes

What does it take to be a sports presenter?
I would say luck. On a serious note, you need to have the passion for sport. You cannot get into it if sports doesn't obsess you. You need to follow it more than a fan. In fact, you cannot be a fan.

Does it sometimes annoy you that you can't watch a match without having to analyse it?
No, not really. I don't follow any club as such. I don't gamble. I'm just happy to watch the sport. The only thing that does annoy me is that I can't sit with my mates and enjoy the game having a drink.

Did anyone inspire you?
No one in particular. Growing up, I didn't know what I wanted to be. From the time I was small, I'd always listen to the radio and follow the happenings. I guess that grew on me. I remember that I was working as a newspaper journalist and someone suggested that I join TV. I took up that challenge and there hasn't been any regret.

How do you prepare yourself for the shows?
I spend Monday to Friday watching videos. I record quite a few games. So by Wednesday, we sit down together and decide what the show needs to be like or how we want to approach the show. By Friday, we know how the show is going to be. So, for the actual show on Saturday, it's like we're just rehearsing what we did all week.

What are the main challenges?
Apart from technical problems, sometimes people go nuts on the show. I had that problem when I was doing Football Focus. Sometimes, the discussions would get too heated up and you don't know what to do because I would try to control the talk but my producer used to keep telling me "that's good stuff John, keep it going," and I would try and push the guys and would hope that they don't start swearing. Oh yeah, that's another challenge. You can't swear on TV.

Did you always want to be a football presenter?
When I started out, I wanted to do any sport. I covered a lot of cricket (World Cup in 1999 and Cricket Weekly). I still follow cricket quite closely. But, when it came to the Premier League, I had to focus just on that. I'm happy doing it.

Which show would you rate as the best?
Football Focus was fun. We just chatted. It's a rarity when you get paid to just chat with people. I enjoyed doing Football Up Close where I got a chance to talk to the likes of Thierry Henry, Alan Shearer and Dennis Bergkamp. I spoke to those guys for half-an-hour. Today, that would be almost impossible to get. I would say now Matchday Live is everything. I can't just give that up because going live is where the fun is.

You've worked with some of the best players and coaches. Who's been the most difficult to deal with?
(Laughs) Fortunately not difficult. Difficult would be if they don't answer questions or they are being uncommunicative. I'm not going to name any names but I can say that fortunately I haven't had many of those.

Who were the funny guys?
I remember the first time I met Sir Bobby Robson. I remember watching him play for Ipswich Town and then I saw him coach the national team (England) at the World Cup. I saw him coach Newcastle. So finally when I met him, I thought he was going to be intense. But he turned out to be the most energetic, enthusiastic man I'd ever seen. It was great to work with him. I even got to work with Roy Keane, who by the way is not as scary as you might think. I went little scared to meet him, but he turned out to be a really funny guy.

You've been in the thick of things in the Premier League. Why do you think it's more successful than any other league?
Traditionally, English football has been very strong for colonial reasons. But what really helped this league is the fact that it produced a high quality TV product. I was in Hong Kong when I was 17 and watching it and for some reason it just stood out. It was appealing to the audience. Football had never looked better on TV before that.

What are your thoughts about the ISL? Do you think it will sustain?
ISL has got off to a brilliant start. They have good production infrastructure. The only thing left is for the football to improve. That's an easy fix because the marquee players will help the Indians to improve. Once they focus on grassroots and club football, I think football will improve. I would suggest they get more Asian players. There are really brilliant footballers in Japan and Korea.

Do you think that three months are enough for the League?
Three months is the way to go for it's difficult to acquire players. I can't comment too much on that because I'm not an organiser. But what I can say is that three months is a good enough start.