I think if you put a timeframe on things, you can start rushing things and getting away from the goals, so I try to take it day by day and make sure I keep improving.

Every kid dreams of playing in the Premier League.

Klinsmann should be remembered as a great coach; I don't think a lot of people see it, but as players, we really appreciate what he did for America soccer. He opened American soccer up. He gave it a lot more variety of players. You see German-Americans and Mexican-Americans, and you see the guys that were born in America.

If you get taken out after 20 minutes it's a big blow to you.

For me, that's the biggest thing, if something holds me back it's my mental game so I really tried to focus on that and just worked on that.

Billy Jones, positionally, is unbelievable. He's not the fastest guy but he makes up for it by being positionally sound, so I really tried to focus and absorb where he would be in certain situations and just tried to add that in my game.

Confidence is a funny thing, and sometimes that's all you need is just that little bit to elevate you to the next level.

I love the Premier League. It's obviously a very talented league.

It's no secret that I think that MLS is a top five, top six league in the world but they're not the top league.

Nobody wants to look stupid by celebrating on offside goal.

I want people to know about my story and where I came from.

I think one of the biggest things is I wasn't spoiled as a kid. I got what I needed. I didn't always get what I wanted. But it's good to have what you need.

If I had grown earlier, maybe I would have stuck with football. Maybe. But I was just too small. I was quick, I could outrun people, but if anyone ever got a hand on me, I was done.

Life in Newcastle has been a lot more similar to life in Seattle, which has been great. The city is relaxed but, just like Seattle, Newcastle's passion for their team is second to none. You get recognized walking down the street or when you're around town.

England and the U.S. definitely have their differences and similarities.

Everybody tells me they don't know how I have so much energy, and I think people feed off that, which is great.

Oh, I grew up in Seattle.

As a player, you love to play in front of a big crowd.

There are things you have to look at with those world-class players, but at the end of the day, they're not superheroes. They're still human.

If my path is with Tottenham then it's with Tottenham.

I feel like I've improved immensely in terms of my defending, not only in one-versus-ones but also with my positioning.

First and foremost my obligation is on the defensive side. But obviously there are times when I need to go and attack, too.

Even when my grandparents compliment me, I don't like when they do that.

I think in some ways it makes me feel uncomfortable, just getting a bunch of attention. I'd rather just stay chill and kind of lay low.

That's the No. 1 thing you need to have, to believe you can win.

For me, I like interacting with Sounders fans. Some guys with their time off they want their time off, but I don't mind it.

When I was younger if I was in someone else's shoes, if you saw a professional athlete you'd want to go up and introduce yourself and ask a couple questions, so I definitely know where they're coming from.

It's good to defend a player that's as fast as me because I have to learn.

As a manager you're going to put out the player you think is going to best help you win the game.

Every manager has different opinions and all you can do as a player is try to fight and get your spot back, or at least earn your manager's trust back to try and get your spot back. There's no use sulking about it, you just get on with it and try to raise your game to get back to the level you need to be when you were starting.

When you face any adversity in life those are the kind of lessons you can take and remember. Those are the things that are going to help me not just in football but in life, which is priceless.

A lot of people ask me what has been the biggest change with me being in England and a lot of people expect me to say something related to football, but mostly it's just growing up and becoming a man.

If you're not fully happy doing one thing, you try to do find another thing to take your mind from it.

In England, especially, mentally if you're not strong it can eat you up. There's the media, all the negativity surrounding footballers. If you're not mentally strong, it can eat you.

Living in London and having a lavish lifestyle, it's not that important to me.

I'm fine with just a simple life.

In the midfield, I'm not the most comfortable playing with my back to the goal, and in the midfield you find that ball a lot.

I'm able to travel all over the world to play and do something that I love. That's not something that a lot of people get to do.

I try to value every day, every training session, every game.

I try not to snack, but my family, we're all big snackers. So I try to keep healthy snacks around, like Nutri-Grain bars, pistachios, that sort of thing. But you're always going to cheat a little bit.

Seattle is the place where you can really find any kind of food, especially Japanese food.

For me, I can't eat healthy 100 percent of the year. There's obviously those little times where you have to eat something that's not great for you, but you just need comfort food.

I won't eat past when I'm full. I think that's the problem some people have, they like a dish so much that they'll eat until it's completely gone and feel sick after. Me, if I feel full, ready, comfortable, I'll stop.

I couldn't really tell if it was a different childhood because I was used to it, it was kind of normal to me. The only time I remember it felt a bit odd was when I went to other people's houses and they were calling people 'dad.' I wouldn't get that. But my uncle, who also lived with me, was a father figure.

I think at some point I would like to meet my dad. He's in prison in the U.S. for life, so it's about figuring out where he is stationed and making time to see him.

I knew there was no money in track and field unless you were unbelievable. So I stopped it when I was 13. I just really wanted to focus on soccer and with soccer training and high school, it would have been too much if I did track and field as well.

Obviously the chance to work with Rafa, there's not really a better situation I could be in. He's great. He takes his time with you. One-on-ones, he'll stay out after training for another hour if you need it. He's been one of the best managers I've had.

I was raised to always be humble.

Positional awareness comes with experience, so getting game time helps, but we also work a lot in training as a back-line and also on defensive shape.

My defensive side was something I wanted to work on, especially coming into the Premier League.