I NEVER DRINK, NEVER Jermain Defoe remains a teetotal goal machine for Sunderland as he hunts down the six strikers with more Premier League goals than the him Former England man is also one of the game’s top professionals, whether it be yoga or cryotherapy, or a super strict diet JERMAIN DEFOE celebrated his 150th Premier League goal by watching it back on Match of the Day with his mum and a cup of green tea. And that, in a nutshell, is why the Sunderlandstriker, who reached the landmark against Hull last Saturday, remains at the top of his game at the grand old age of 34. please log in to view this image GETTY IMAGES 7 Jermain Defoe is still banging in goals for Sunderland Defoe is a football and goalscoring obsessive, who lists the tallies of the six players left above him on the all-time Premscoring charts as if he is waiting to chalk their names off his bedroom wall. please log in to view this image The marksman has avoided alcohol and focused on goals Wayne Rooney and a few other of Defoe’s former England team-mates, you will not find him on the front pages because of booze. Speaking after training at Sunderland's Academy of Light HQ, Defoe said: “I never drink, never. P please log in to view this image REUTERS 7 The ex-England internmational has banged goals in for West Ham, Bournemouth and Tottenham please log in to view this image GETTY IMAGES 7 The striker uses plenty of extra training sessions to stay super-fit “I think you get more out of yourself if you don’t drink. I believe that if you look after yourself and you don’t drink, you eat the right things, you have rests, you sleep, then you feel ready for the game at the weekend and you feel professional. “You’ve given yourself the best chance because you’ve not gone out drinking. “I bumped into Chris Eubank recently. He said he always felt that if his opponent was out drinking and he wasn’t, then he had got the advantage and he was going into those fights thinking he would win. “When we are away, I like to be with my team-mates. I don’t want to be boring and just sit in my room. “But you’ve got to be careful about it, especially nowadays with camera phones. “There’s nothing wrong with sitting in the hotel with the lads and having a couple of drinks — but it shouldn’t be more than that. “When I finish playing one day at least I can say to myself, ‘You know, I did everything right’. “That’s the time when you can enjoy yourself and, I suppose, drink — although I don’t think I’ll really drink. I don’t think I’ll wish to drink a lot.” please log in to view this image GETTY IMAGES 7 Defoe uses yoga and cryotherapy to stay in peak condition Defoe also reveals his tee-total stance is partly because of the alcohol habits of his father Jimmy, who died of throat cancer in 2012. He explained: “I’ve never said it before, but my dad used to drink a lot so that’s one of the reasons why. “My mum has said over the years, ‘Try not to drink if you can, try not to get in that habit because you don’t need it if you want to play at the highest level for a long time’.” Defoe never even has fizzy drinks and only has coffee on a matchday — but downs green tea every day. He lists salmon, kale and spinach as some of his staple foods. He spends three minutes in a cryotherapy chamber every Thursday — where the freezing temperatures promote muscle regeneration — and does regular yoga, all in a bid to prolong his career. please log in to view this image PARESS ASSOCIATION 7 David Moyes has got Sunderland scoring goals again with Defoe the main man Defoe, who appears happy to chat all day as he sits relaxed in his ripped jeans and All Saints T-shirt, said: “I put a lot of questions to the doctor, the nutritionists and the sports scientists. “I just want to continue playing. I do not feel like I am 34. I don’t feel like I am getting older. “The game against Hull, even towards the end, I did not feel fatigued, not one little bit. I remember watching Floyd Mayweather fights and how he went back to his corner and I was thinking, ‘How is this guy never out of breath?’. “So I speak to the guy here who does all the yoga stuff and I said to him, ‘How does Floyd do it?’. He told me that by doing yoga you can control your breathing, so now I can control my breathing.” please log in to view this image GETTY IMAGES 7 Defoe watches his highlights with nothing stronger than a green tea If Defoe continues playing for as long as he expects, he will continue to climb that list he knows off by heart. A goal at Anfield on Saturday would take Defoe above Liverpool legend Michael Owen in the Prem scoring list and into seventh place on his own — but his sights are set higher. And Defoe does not even pause to think, as he added: “It would be good to go there and score, then it would move me closer to Robbie Fowler on 163. “Then there’s Thierry Henry on 175 and Frank Lampard on 177. “Can I catch Henry on 175? Phew, that’s special to go above someone like Henry, someone who is one of the best the Premier League has ever seen. “I don’t know how high I can go. “But to score 150, it’s mad. Sometimes I sit there and I have to pinch myself.”
