Hello again.

Before I tell you what I've been working on this week, I've been asked by several of you to explain how I got into sports journalism, and give some advice on getting into it. Many young football fans have an interest in the media, so here's my take on how to break into this competitive world.

By the time I was 18 I knew I wanted to be a sports journalist but realised I needed to get experience in the industry. I loved sport, but was also fascinated by general news, because my Dad is a photographer, and I often helped him on press jobs for newspapers where I grew up in Northampton.

I worked for nothing as a reporter at Northants Press Agency, and then for my university newspaper, getting articles published, interviewing top sportspeople, improving my writing, and making useful contacts. I wrote to many newspapers and TV channels asking to work for them in holidays. The vast majority never responded but a few did, and I ended up spending time at Yorkshire TV, Live TV, The Observer and the Financial Times.

This meant that when it came to applying for jobs after leaving university I had a chance because I had evidence of my journalism, and proof of my interest in it. The BBC offered me a place on their news trainee scheme, and having worked as a radio reporter in Bristol, Leeds, and Hull I eventually got a job as a news producer at BBC TV Centre in London. I began to report on stories for News 24 on TV, and freelancing for BBC Sport at the weekends.

Finally, three years ago, I joined Sky Sports News as a reporter. I'm fortunate because I'm working in an area I have a genuine passion for - sports news. I get to travel, meet a wide variety of people, and I honestly believe that the next best thing to playing sport for a living is reporting on it.

There's no right or wrong way to get a job in the media, but these are my main bits of advice.

Be passionate - you need to love sport and be fascinated by it in order to write or talk about it all the time. A good journalist should be naturally inquisitive, be interested in a range of different issues and stories, and have opinions - this applies to sport too.

Get experience - no editor of a paper, tv, or radio station is going to give you a job unless they can see some proof that you're worth it - many young people want to get into the media, especially sports journalism - it's seen as a glamorous and fun job.

But that means that it's competitive, so you need to get articles published, or reports broadcast - college newspapers and hospital radio are a perfect way to do this. If you get work experience don't just make the coffees for a week - use the opportunity to come up with ideas, to learn, and to strengthen your case.

Have a goal - it's good to keep your options open, but at some stage you need to identify where you want to be in the future. Get experience, then decide what you enjoy most, and where your strengths lie. Do you prefer writing, or broadcasting? Do you enjoy producing behind the scenes and having overall responsibility, or prefer being out on the road reporting?

These are the questions you must answer to help guide you.

Make contacts - sports media is often about who you know, not what you know. A good contact can open doors, or get you that all important piece of information that gets you a scoop. It could even get you a job one day. So talk to people from every walk of life, and be interested in what they have to say.

Have a safety net - there's no doubt you need luck in the media - I know some excellent journalists who didn't get the break they needed, but were able to go into something else because they had a good degree or training in a different but related field. I know there are some excellent media courses out there, but my honest advice is get a degree or some training that gives you a proper skill, and do your journalism on the side until you get a job in it.

Never lose belief - sports media is a hard and competitive area to break into. However, I'm convinced that if you want it enough, and are prepared to keep trying, one day you'll get a chance, and then it's up to you. The life of a sports journalist is full of challenges and often hard work - but ultimately it's worth all the effort. Good luck!

This week's been interesting. On Tuesday I interviewed Chelsea's impressive young striker Salomon Kalou about the challenge of competing with strikers like Didier Drogba and Andrei Shevchenko for a starting place at Stamford Bridge. Then on Wednesday I was in Westminster to cover a debate about whether terraces should be reintroduced to Premiership grounds.

But the highlight was the chance to report on a historic day - the first official event to be staged at the new national stadium, the new Wembley.

Sky Sports News covered the Community Day from the very beginning, so I was on site with producer John Curtis, reporter Roger Clarke, cameraman Mark Anker, and engineer Don at 6am on Saturday. From 7am I was broadcasting live from the top of a nearby building from which we managed to get some wonderful views of the stadium, while Roger intervewed local residents on Wembley Way.

Later on I got to go inside and spoke to FA chief executive Brian Barwick, and some of the celebrities playing in the charity match on the hallowed turf, including former Crystal Palace captain Geoff Thomas and current Chairman Simon Jordan. I even got a few minutes inside Dressing Room One, where England's players will be changing from now on.

To see people in the seats and players on the pitch at last was surreal, and something I'll never forget. The new stadium is truly impressive - it reminds me of the Olympic Stadium in Berlin because it is so vast, and has a certain special quality to it that's difficult to put into words.

Next Saturday I'll be at the first competitive match to be staged at the new Wembley when England's Under 21s take on Italy in front of 60,000 people.

And then, hopefully, we can look forward to The FA Cup Final being back where it belongs at the new home of English football.

Do you want to send Dan a question? You could ask what his most difficult interview was? What team does he support? Click here to email Dan.