HERALD SPORT: I believe you know Peter Ridsdale, Argyle's chairman of football operations, very well from your time together at Cardiff City. How much of a factor was he in your decision to move to Home Park?
DARREN PURSE: I know Peter very well. We worked together at Cardiff for four years and, I'm not going to lie, he was a big factor in me coming down here.
With Peter being here, I know he will move hell or high water to get the club out of the position we are in.
I don't think there is any person better at doing that than Peter Ridsdale. For all the stick he gets, he's very good at what he does.
He got stick for the situation at Leeds United, but I don't think that was all down to him, and he turned Cardiff around.
Instead of going into administration, he got them into a new stadium. I think the Cardiff fans have got a lot to thank him for, for the position they are in – third in the Championship and being in the play-offs for the last couple of seasons.
I think a lot of credit goes to him and (former manager) Dave Jones for what they did together at Cardiff.
HS: Peter Ridsdale has received a lot of criticism during his time in football. Do you think he is a misunderstood character?
DP: I have got a lot of time for Peter. I think people who have worked for him and been associated with him will speak well of him. He just gets on with what he does, and he does it very well.
His wife and children don't live in Plymouth but he spends most of the week down here. That shows you his commitment to getting Argyle out of the position they are in.
HS: Looking back at your career, you have made more than 570 first team appearances and have played in the Premier League for Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion. You must be pleased with what you have achieved.
DP: I have got no regrets. I wouldn't change the decisions I have made throughout my career. They have always worked out well for me.
When I was 21, if you had asked me what my aspiration was, it would have been to play for the national side. I played for the under-21s, but never quite got to the heights of that.
Everybody has got as a sob story of injuries, but when I was playing well for Birmingham in the Premier League I got an ankle injury, and I was supposed to be out for two weeks but I was out for four months.
I got a big infection in it, and that sort of set me back a little bit. Since then, my career hasn't probably hit the heights that I really wanted it to.
But if you had offered me the career that I have had when I was 17 years of age, I would have snapped your hand off.
HS: Do you still get the same sense of enjoyment from playing as you have always done?
DP: I want to look back on my career and say 'I played 700-800 games', not 'I earned more money but only played 400 games'.
I could have stayed at West Brom when my face didn't fit and picked my money up, but I moved to Cardiff because that was an opportunity for me.
I have never regretted that because I probably had some of the best years of my playing career at Cardiff. I loved it there.
The support I have had through my career from my dad and my wife (Lindsay) has been brilliant. Hopefully, they have enjoyed it as much as I have.
HS: You have been with your wife for a long time, haven't you?
DP: I met her at school and we have been together for 18 years now. It's a long time, but I love her more than ever.
HS: What would you say has been the highlight of your career? Is there one particular memory?
DP: Playing for my country in the under-21s. I'm a very patriotic person. I love being English.
I played for the under-21s at the Toulon tournament before the 1998 World Cup, and to stand there and sing the national anthem was fantastic.
HS: What about the League Cup final in 2001 when you scored a late equaliser for Birmingham to send the match into extra-time, but eventually lost to Liverpool on penalties?
DP: Everybody says about that, scoring a goal in a cup final, and especially with it being in the last minute. It was brilliant.
I think that put my name on the map, and people knew who I was. Winning promotion with Birmingham (to the Premier League) the following season was another highlight.
I was sent-off in the play-off semi-final, and was gutted to miss the final, but I think I played 40 or 41 games out of 46 that year, which was brilliant for me.
I missed the big one, but I was happy to have played in a promotion-winning side. So there have been some good highlights.
But I wish had done it when I was little bit older because I think you appreciate it more. I was only 22 or 23 then and I thought everything was going to keep going that way. When I look back at it now I could have really appreciated it a lot more than I did.
I always remember when I was at West Brom. We beat Portsmouth at home 2-0 on the last day of the (2004/05) Premier League season, and all the other results went for us, and we stayed up.
We were all celebrating in the dressing room afterwards but (former Arsenal striker) Kevin Campbell was sitting in the corner.
I asked him 'Kev what's the matter?' and he said 'I'm taking it all in Pursey, what we have just done is brilliant.'
I think we are the only team to have been bottom of the Premier League at Christmas and actually stay up.
That's another highlight to look back on in my career. The Premier League is such a massive thing in football nowadays, and to be the only team who have done that in the last 20-odd years is a fantastic achievement.
HS: Last question. What do you do away from the pressure of professional football?
DP: I like a game of golf, but I don't play as much as I would like to with family commitments. I like a game of cricket, but I don't play as much as I would like to.
On a day off, I will always be out with my missus or the kids. My son is 10-years-old and he plays football so I love getting up on a Sunday morning and taking him to games.
My daughter rides a horse so I take her show jumping during the summer. My family keep me busy outside of football and, obviously, they are the most important thing for me.
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