IN our second new www.wba.co.uk feature for the 2009/10 season we will be asking the players, coaching staff and former players what has inspired them in their lives and in football.

We'll be getting up close and personal with Roberto Di Matteo's men every Thursday in 'My Inspirations'.

This week we chat to Canadian striker Marcus Haber.

Q1. Which teacher?

MH: Bryon Jack, my basketball and track coach. He was a real cool dude. He told me I had a chance to be something good if I put my mind to it. I went to Lord Byng Secondary School in Vancouver.

Q2. Which song?

MH: I like 'Lose Yourself' by Eminem. I think it has a real powerful message in it and it gets you pumped up for a game.

Q3. Which person outside of football as a teenager?

MH: My family. I'm very close to my family. They push me hard and always want what's best for me. They make me proud.

Q4. Which coach as a youth team player?

MH: Roman Tulis, who was my academy coach and was Slovakian. I attended a specialised football school from eight years old to nine years old. He was all about technique and development. He took us abroad a few times to Holland and Spain to play. Going there to see the European way of playing made me want to pursue coming over here. I owe a lot of my development to him.

Q5. Which film?

MH: 'Friday Night's Lights'. It's an American Football movie set in an American High School. I liked it.

Q6. Which manager?

MH: Tony Fonseca, my U20s national Coach. He played internationally and also spent some time playing in Portugal, so he was a good player in his day. He has been the most respected manager I have played for so far. He demands good football and I learnt a lot from him.

Q7. Which book?

MH: Roy Keane's autobiography. It was good to look at a footballer's life and look at all the ups and downs he went through.

Q8. Which famous person?

MH: Thierry Henry is the footballer that I have idolised, mainly because he played at Arsenal. I'm an Arsenal fan and like his style of play. He plays everything with style and technique, he is a complete player. The goals he scored were always class and think he was always a stand-out player on the pitch. I used to watch him and try to be like him.

Q9. Which team-mate in your career?

MH: Wes Knight, who I played with at Vancouver Whitecaps. He was probably my closet friend in the last team and we are similar in age. He is only a couple of years older than me. I like to keep in touch with him. He has always talked about reaching for the stars and we definitely pushed each other last season. Every accomplishment that I made, he made, or the team made, we shared it together. So he is someone I am closest to in football.

Q10. Which sportsperson outside of football?

MH: Kobe Bryant, who plays for the LA Lakers. He won the Championship when he was really young then didn't win it again for something like eight years. I see him as the epitome of hard work in the off-season and I think that is the kind of work ethic and attitude that all athletes should have. Push yourself harder than everyone else when no-one is looking.