Newcastle United goalkeeper Tim Krul has revealed how Shay Given and Steve Harper improved his keeping - by tying his arms together!

Given, now of Aston Villa, and Harper acted as mentors for Krul as he worked his way through the Toon system.

"When I first came to England I was always waving my arms about," he told the Daily Mail.

"You should always have them in front of you, so that if someone hits a shot, you are ready. Sometimes when a shot was hit at me, my hands were still by my side.

"They used to hammer me. Eventually one day they tied my wrists by sticking together the Velcro from the straps on left and right gloves. You get the message after something as extreme as that. They both really looked after me. They were like two big brothers and I owe them a lot. They were never too big to guide me and I listened."