Kieran Richardson retired in 2016, aged 32, after a brief stint with Cardiff City but enjoyed the best spell of his career with Sunderland.

The promising West Ham United youth product scored twice in eight caps for England but made his firmest mark on the Premier League, in his time with the Black Cats.

Richardson made 149 appearances for Sunderland in a five year spell between 2007 and 2012, transitioning from a livewire winger to a battle-hardened full back.

The Londoner confessed that the main reason he departed Wearside was due to the birth of his first child.

Richardson reminisced about the happy time he spent at the Stadium of Light when he appeared on the Vibe with Five podcast, quotes are provided by ChronicleLive.

He said: "The best time of my career was there.

"I loved it - the changing room, the vibes, the fans, everything about that club.

"It was definitely my best time as a footballer at Sunderland.

"Scoring in the Newcastle derby, it made me like a cult hero up there.

"Up there, that rivalry is different, it’s worse (the hatred) than Man United and Liverpool."

English football has sorely missed the Tyne-Wear derby in recent years and Richardson's performances in those fixtures will live long in the memory of every Black Cats supporter that was in attendance.

The Verdict

Probably a player who peaked quite early in his career, Richardson did not hit the same heights after leaving Sunderland and made his England senior appearances as an up and coming attacking player.

The Black Cats have been aggressively thrown back into contention for promotion to the Championship this season, with Alex Neil addressing a lot of the key issues that hampered the team under Lee Johnson in a short space of time.

There is hope, under his leadership, that the Black Cats can make their long awaited return to the Premier League and the initial leap back to the second tier could eventually prove to be the more challenging hurdle.