The 31-year-old readily admits to falling in love with Australia and tells au.fourfourtwo.com he's in no hurry to leave these shores.

You were part of that Leeds United side under David O'Leary which promised so much and reached two European semi-finals in 2000 and 2001. It must have been a special time at Elland Road?

Ah, the best days. It was so enjoyable and we had some fantastic players such as Harry (Kewell).  We played some great football, went so close in Europe and we didn't know about what was happening off the pitch (Leeds' subsequent financial meltdown). They're a massive club though, they have great support, they're flying at the top of their division and they'll bounce back.

Injury really brought your Leeds spell to a shuddering halt. Are you bitter when you look at the likes of Harry and think 'what might have been'?

I'm a strong believer that things happen for a reason, I really am. I look at it this way. If I hadn't been out injured, I'd have never have met my wife. I went back to the north-east of England during the injury period at Leeds and while I was staying with my parents, a friend of mine who owns a restaurant rang to say that a girl was working for him that I just had to come and meet...The rest is history. My only regret is that I got injured just as I was poised to get my first full England cap.

You must be one of a select group who can say they have played for Newcastle in England and Newcastle in Australia as well?

(Laughs). That's right. Both called Newcastle United as well. I think it's fair to say there's a bit of a difference between the two, certainly in temperature and climate.  And very different from Carlisle as well (a club Bridges had a couple of spells with in the far north of England). Thirty five degrees in training here compared to minus four at Carlisle.

So what do you think of the Hunter version of Newcastle then?

Oh, we're loving it here, really loving it. It's a fantastic area. It seems to be a laid back kind of place. It's funny that you mention Carlisle because after I'd scored against Central Coast recently, I was walking past Chris Doig and he joked that things could be worse for him, that he could have conceded a goal against me in the wind and rain at Brunton Park (Carlisle's home ground). I'd forgotten that I'd played against him when he was at Northampton Town.

Is it fair to say that your first stint in the A-League with Sydney FC a couple of years ago really whetted your appetite for more Australian football?

Definitely. It was a bit of a strange time at Sydney. I'd only just got there and Branko (Culina) left. I played some games but went back to England before the finals. But I was very happy with what I'd seen of Australia and wanted to come back.

It could have been Gold Coast United colours rather than Newcastle's strip couldn't it?

I was going to sign a two-year deal to join Miron (Bleiberg) and Paul (Okon) but unfortunately family circumstances at the time meant that I couldn't go through with that.

Did Branko need to do much persuading to get you back here?

I was all set to go to Portugal and then the Newcastle thing happened. I was on the plane and I haven't regretted it at all. It's a great bunch of lads here and there's no 'big time charlies' in the group.  What's also great is that we get the ball down and try to play football.  I'm enjoying playing with Labinot Haliti and I think we're developing a good partnership. But I think the A-League as a whole is a fantastic competition and it's an attractive one. It's great that people like Andy Todd and Paul Ifill have come over here and are doing really well - players who still have a lot of football to offer. It's just a shame there aren't a few more people to see it.

Injury-permitting, next up it's a trip to your old club Sydney FC. Are you looking forward to that?

Yes. It will be another good test for us. I'll be interesting to see how much stick I get from the Cove!

What are Michael Bridges' goals for the rest of the season and what can Newcastle Jets do?

As a striker you are going to be judged on goals and so I just want to keep scoring and working hard for the team. As for Newcastle, we are not out of it by any means and all the boys are pumped for it.

Does Michael Bridges have an A-League future beyond the end of the current season?

Look, as I've already said, I've fallen in love with Australia and I'd like to stay and (further down the line) be involved with the coaching side, kids coaching.