I've had the privilege of playing in our top seven leagues and the main differences when stepping up are organisation, athleticism and decisiveness. Believe me, the gap is even more evident when you achieve the holy grail of the Premier League.
Stadium tunnels are often tight and filled with testosterone. With that combination of a confined space and emotions running high you get the ideal scenario for confrontation.
As a teenager, I was in the Carlisle schoolboy scheme and while I was excited to join at first, I look back on it as a tough few years.
It was through the Hammerheads that I got a route into the professional game, via a trial at Sunderland from Mick McCarthy and then an invitation to come back to Carlisle in 2004.
The space between keepers and defenders is referred to as the 'corridor of opportunity' - a well-hit pass in there has the goalie questioning whether to come into traffic and defenders unsure of whether or where to clear the ball.
I've had many strike partners over the years and usually their aim is to outscore you - and take great pleasure in doing so.
