Since being sacked by West Ham in August, Glenn Roeder has had a good season.

No health relapses, plenty of running and plenty of watching the game he loves from the other side of the fence. Particularly Arsenal, whom Roeder says "have raised the bar in Premiership standards".

A year after collapsing in his office with a brain tumour, - 21st April, 2003 to be exact – Roeder is looking to the future and getting back to the game he loves.

"It’s nice in one way that people ask me how I’m feeling – it shows how much they care," he smiles.

"But there is a part of me which says ‘come on chaps, I’ve been completely fine for a long, long time now’.

"I am fighting fit and looking forward to going back to work in the new season. I have some irons in the fire let’s say."

Roeder hasn’t been idle. In fact, he is taking advantage of not having to watch the same team every week as the manager!

"I’ve become spoilt, I watch a lot of top Premiership matches and have really enjoyed it," he says.

"I go up to Newcastle a fair bit. I obviously have happy memories from playing for them and I think I’m one of the southerners that the Geordies like!

"I watched them against PSV in the UEFA Cup and I’ll be back up on Sunday for their game with Chelsea."

Top of the tree though is Arsenal – watching them is perfect medicine."I think Thierry Henry is making a very good case for being the best player in the world at the moment," says 48-year-old Roeder.

"They are an inspirational team. I was at Highbury for their win against Liverpool. You know Liverpool played very well in the first half and deserved to lead 2-1.

But having struggled for 45 minutes, Arsenal were still able to turn the match upside-down in just five minutes. Bang, bang – they were 3-2 up. That is what good sides can do and Arsenal have raised the barrier as far as the Premiership is concerned.

"The way they have bounced back from the shock of losing to Chelsea in the Champions League is very impressive.

"I think from Arsene Wenger’s point of view, the best thing about them has been their consistency.

"It is what all the others – Houllier, Ferguson, Robson – aim for but it’s Arsenal who have got it right this season. You hardly ever see a poor game involving Arsenal and they hardly ever lose – not at all in the Premiership of course. That is a manager’s dream."

Apart from watching football, Glenn is also keeping himself in trim despite not being able to go to the training ground every day.

"I would like to say I go running every day, but that is probably an exaggeration," he says.

"But I do go three times a week; going for a 40-minute run, followed by a shower and a good breakfast – sets you up for the day."

There was shock when Roeder, in the middle of a relegation fight with West Ham, collapsed after a home game against Middlesbrough.

Doctors said however it wasn’t related to the stresses of football management – brain tumours like that can affect anyone at any time.

This week, Roeder passed his six-month check-up without any problems and there is no reason now to stop a return to football.

"The neurologist Dr Gauler and Mr. Afshar, the surgeon, say everything is exactly as they would want.

"The enthusiasm is burning as brightly as it ever did."

Now, Roeder is looking to end the season with a Double – Newcastle for the UEFA Cup and West Ham for the Premiership.

"That would be lovely," he says. "I’ve been to a few West Ham matches and still expect them to win promotion through the playoffs."