Barmby has happy memories of the Workers' Stadium and is relishing the prospect of returning Beijing and playing in front of thousands of Chinese football fans again as part of the Barclays Asia Trophy.

Back in 1996, as preparation for Euro 96, Barmby played for England in a friendly international against China in the Workers' Stadium. That night, in front of 65,000 passionate fans, he scored two goals as England ran out 3-0 winners.

And the Hull City midfielder is thrilled to be coming back to Beijing and sampling the atmosphere of the famous ground 13 years later.

unbelievable atmosphere

"When I played in the Workers' Stadium with England there was a tremendous atmosphere inside the ground. I was lucky enough to be given a start by England manager Terry Venables that night. I scored two goals and picked up the man of the match award, so I have nothing but happy memories of the place," said Barmby, before adding that the fans in Beijing made it a very special evening.

"The Chinese people are football mad and created an unbelievable atmosphere that night - I'm sure they'll do the same during the Barclays Asia Trophy."

By interesting coincidence, 1996 was also the same year that Hull City were relegated to Division Three, the bottom league of English football.

However, in a fantastic example of how any team can overcome adversity and be a great success in English football, from 2003 to 2008 the Tigers secured three promotions in five seasons to gain their proud place in the Barclays Premier League.

The Tigers - their nickname for many years after a local newspaper reporter saw the colour of Hull's kit (black and amber) and compared it to a tiger - had an incredible first season in the top flight of English football, exceeding many people's expectations and staying up.

competitive league

After an explosive start to the campaign, which included memorable away victories over Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, Hull eventually retained their top-flight status on the final day of the season, finishing one place and one point above the relegation zone.

Now the new season is almost with us, the question is how do the Tigers establish themselves as regulars in the Premier League? Barmby says the way to do that is by attracting players who want to play in the most competitive league in the world.

"We may not be the biggest of clubs but being a Premier League team means you can attract top players. We've got an excellent management and the scouting system and I don't think we've had a problem attracting players. Players want to play in the Premier League and hopefully they will see Hull City as giving them the opportunity to do that," said Barmby.

"The longer you stay in the Premier League, the more established you become," claimed the 35 year-old. "By being in the League we'll be able to attract more and more players to the club and that has a knock-on effect. The most important thing is to make sure you stay in the Premier League."

Barmby, who was born and raised in Hull and is a product of their youth system, is delighted for the fans that the Tigers are part of the Barclays Premier League.

He said: "We have a fantastic support in Hull that we're very proud of. We have 20,500 season ticket holders and are sold out for the new Premier League season, which we're hoping will be the year of the Tiger!

"I believe there are about 200 of our fans coming to Beijing for the Barclays Asia Trophy, which just goes to show the pride they have in being part of the Premier League, they want to sample every bit of it. I'm sure they will love China and if the atmosphere is anything like what I experienced in 1996 then they are in for a treat."