Rio Ferdinand insists he has learnt from his past off-field mistakes as he prepares to captain England for the first time in tonight's friendly international with France in Paris.
The chance of skippering his country must have seemed a distant hope for Ferdinand four years ago when he was given an eight-month ban by the Football Association for missing a drugs test at Manchester United's training ground at Carrington.
And prior to that Ferdinand had been left out of an England squad against Moldova by then coach Glenn Hoddle in 1997 for a drink-driving offence.
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But Ferdinand insisted he has matured and recognised the responsibilities of a professional footballer who is constantly in the public spotlight.
Now Fabio Capello has maintained his pledge to rotate the captaincy before next season's World Cup qualifiers by giving the armband to Ferdinand in the Stade de France.
Ferdinand said: "I think everyone goes through ups and downs, not only in their careers but in their lives. It is how you come out of those situations that is important.
"I feel I've applied myself in the right manner whenever a situation has gone against me - and I will continue to do that."
Asked what he would say to anyone who questioned his right to be captain, he replied: "The easiest way to say it is the past is the past. People move on in their lives and mature, step up to the plate and become better people for having been through those situations.
"If someone does something wrong in their life, do you shut the door on them totally? I don't think that is the right way.
"I am sure this manager hasn't looked into the past and taken things in the past into account. He sees what he sees in the present and he deems me the man at the moment to wear the armband."
Ferdinand admitted he did a lot of soul-searching after the FA ban which meant he was suspended for the Euro 2004 finals in Portugal.
He said: "You learn who your friends are, who the people are who support you. Manchester United were magnificent in that period.
But in periods like that, you look deep into yourself.
"Are you thick skinned enough to get through it? Have you got the character to keep plugging away and keep training hard?
"I think I missed six days training in all the time I was banned. That is what kept me going and that was the light at the end of the tunnel. The manager (Sir Alex Ferguson) said 'when you come back, make sure you are in the best condition possible.'
"I trained better than any time in my life when I was banned. Some people might want to get away but I thought it best to stick it out and be there and in the faces of everyone and stay around and keep myself in the frame."
Ferdinand admitted leading his country will be his biggest honour in football but he believes it is more important to have many leaders on the pitch.
He said: "I'll play my normal game. I've done it on many occasions for United. I'll do nothing different than what I do for United with England. It is a fantastic honour.
"The manager hasn't set the captaincy in stone, but if playing my normal game means I become England captain, then great.
"This is the biggest honour I've ever had. Titles are unbelievable as well but I don't think you can compare the two to be honest. This is an honour in itself.
"How many people are named as England captain? Not many and to be named on that list of illustrious players is a great achievement in itself. I'll be wearing that armband with as much pride as anyone in the past.
"But for me, the individual captain isn't as important as having 11 captains on the pitch. I think it is more important to have people who are going to lead from the front, not just the one person.
"Successful teams have big characters who lead from the front who don't mind taking the pressure on their shoulders and the more people we have got like that in the squad, the more successful we will be in the future."
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