Newcastle wing wizard Matt Ritchie says he was kicked by Paolo Di Canio even when Swindon won, as he talks about his tough route from pub lodger to St James' Park favourite

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Matt Ritchie looked out of his bedroom window above an East London pub and realised that his introduction to life as a professional footballer was not how he had imagined. Sitting on the bonnet of the teenager’s new Vauxhall Astra was a punter from the boozer below.

‘I was far too scared to say anything,’ says Ritchie, who had joined League Two Dagenham & Redbridge on loan from Portsmouth and was just days away from making his senior debut.

‘I was buzzing about that car, my pride and joy, and this geezer is just sitting on it. It was my first night away from home and they’d put me up in this pub - I had to walk through the bar to get to my room.

Matt Ritchie has spoken to Sportsmail about his rise through the English Football League

The midfielder signed for Newcastle United in the summer for £12million from Bournemouth

‘I thought, “I can’t stay here”. It opened my eyes a bit. I’d been spoilt at Portsmouth, they were in the Premier League and everything was laid on for you - your food, washing, all you had to do was train and play. But I went to Dagenham and realised - if you don’t make it at the top level then this is what it could be like. It got me going. It definitely gave me a hunger and desire to make the most of the opportunity I had.’

It was a grounding which has served Ritchie well. Today, he is a £12million terrace favourite at Newcastle United, as well as a Scotland international. He no longer lodges above a pub and home is the Northumberland parish of Ponteland, where he lives with his wife Emma - the childhood sweetheart he met at school when he was 13 - and their son, nine-month-old Harry.

On Boxing Day he will run out to 52,000 supporters at St James’ Park. But can he remember where he was on December 26 just five years ago?

Ritchie started life at Portsmouth, where he was sent out on loan to Dagenham & Redbridge

The Scotland international left Bournemouth in the Premier League to join Newcastle

‘It would have been League Two?,’ he ventures. Correct. He was playing for Swindon Town at Torquay United in front of 4,157.

‘I actually remember that,’ he says. ‘We got battered in the first half and lost 1-0. We had to get changed in Portakabins because Torquay were renovating the stand. Paolo (Di Canio) was manager and he wasn’t happy with us. Wow. Five years? It shows how far I’ve come in that time. I’ve played in all four divisions, and I did that in the space of 12 months. So I’ve seen football at every level - it makes me appreciate where I am now.’

The 27-year-old has been outstanding for Championship leaders Newcastle this season. The decision to leave Bournemouth - and the Premier League - was, he says, not as difficult as some might think. ‘You cannot pass up an opportunity like Newcastle,’ insists Ritchie, whose father-in-law is an exiled Geordie and used to tell his daughter’s teenage boyfriend that he would love him to play for the Magpies one day.

The Toon Army have certainly taken to the winger. There is one song which gets more air time than any other in the Gallowgate End, and it goes, ‘Matt Ritchie is magic, he wears a magic hat, he could have signed for West Ham, but he said no **** that! He wants to play for Rafa in the famous black and white, and when we win the Championship we’ll sing this song all night.’

Ritchie says he owes a lot to Paolo Di Canio, who was his manager while at Swindon Town

The Italian boss once kicked Ritchie up the backside after a match that the side actually won

Newcastle's No 11 says boss Rafa Benitez posseses brilliant man-management skills

Ritchie laughs at mention of his tribute. ‘I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t given it a little go around the house,’ he says.

‘I sometimes sing it to my little boy and change the name, “Harry Ritchie’s magic…”. Hopefully he’ll be in the stands to hear it one day. It’s special to have that song. The fans up here really are unbelievable, they make you realise how big this club really is.'

And what of the manager, Rafa Benitez? Ritchie pauses, he wants to get this right.

‘How can I say it?’ he wonders. ‘It’s like, he doesn’t praise you too much. He always leaves you wanting to do more for him. That’s it, the job is never done, don’t congratulate yourself, tomorrow we go again. It’s brilliant man-management.’

Ritchie considers himself fortunate to have been exposed to bosses such as Benitez and Eddie Howe, and even Di Canio, the man who once kicked him up the backside.

‘And that was after we won!’ laughs Ritchie when reminded of the Italian’s size nines.

‘He had this charisma about him and it certainly got the best out of me. He had a passion for winning, I thought he was fantastic. Mad, yes, but he wanted you to be the best you possibly could be. He educated me massively about things such as diet. I owe him a lot.’

Ritchie admits he is a big fan of the chant Newcastle United fans sing about him in the stands

The Scotland international will run out in front of a sell-out St James' Park on Boxing Day

Ritchie was speaking to Sportsmail's Craig Hope about his impressive rise from League Two

Ritchie, though, did not care for his singing. ‘He got up at the end-of-season party and did Dancing in the Moonlight,’ he recalls. ‘Was he any good? Nah, he was rubbish. He looked great in his shades and check shirt, but he couldn’t sing.’

Di Canio, in fact, quit Swindon when Ritchie was sold behind his back to Bournemouth for £400,000 in 2013. It was on the South Coast, however, where Ritchie matured into a Premier League and international player. There are some who say he is good enough for England and the Hampshire-born star was invited to train at Lilleshall as a youngster.

But Ritchie - whose dad, Alex, was born in Edinburgh - prickles at the suggestion he might have been better off waiting for a call from the Three Lions.

‘Definitely not,’ he replies in a flash. ‘As soon as I knew of Scotland’s interest that is what I wanted to do.

‘Some people say, “He isn’t Scottish, he hasn’t been to Scotland”. But that was only down to circumstance - my family moved down to England because of the Navy. I feel Scottish. My dad has always said I’ll play for Scotland one day. It’s been an absolute pleasure to be involved and it’s a proud thing for my family.’

So what about young Harry?

‘That’ll be for him to decide - I hope he’s good enough!’ he says with a smile.

The 27-year-old has scored five times in 23 appearances for Newcastle in all compeititions

‘Although my wife is trying to get him into horses at the moment, we own a couple and she’s into dressage. But I keep putting balls down in front of him, so we’ll have to see.’

Talk of his family causes Ritchie to turn interviewer. He asks about North-East attractions and, when he learns that Sunderland’s Jermain Defoe has an annual pass for Beamish Museum, he notes the name. 

He has visited Alnwick Castle but wants to know more about the region’s National Trust sites. The one thing he doesn’t ask about is pubs. One night in Dagenham was more than enough.