Rob Styles is into his third season as a Premiership referee but this season is his first as an on the international scene. Will this mean a very different working schedule for Styles? TheFA.com managed to catch up with him in between his many games at home and abroad...

TheFA.com: Did you have a role model of a referee when you were starting out?

Rob Styles: I didn't have a role model but when I was starting out as a young ref I had ideas and perceptions of who was the top referee at the time. George Courtney was the best and he went to the World Cup in 1986 and 1990. More recent I would have to say that Philip Don and David Ellery have been the top two.

TheFA.com: What was it that these referees had that made you think so highly of them?

Rob Styles: I think they had great player management. They had strength of character and great composure under pressure. They all had strength and a presence. Not everyone has these qualities, which you need with the demands of the modern game. They can make correct decisions that are unpopular without any fear or favour. They have tremendous character and will.

TheFA.com: It is interesting that you talk about very personal qualities rather than knowing the rules of the game for example?

Rob Styles: I do not think there is a role model of a referee but I think all the top referees have core skills and it is those certain characteristics that everyone has. Of course everyone needs to know the rules of the game but the best referees have what I call moral courage and an unflappable sense of what is right and wrong. All the top referees may have different ways but they all have these qualities.

TheFA.com: What are your aims for this season?

Rob Styles: This is my third season as a Premiership referee. I think that in the first couple of years you need to establish yourself, which I feel I have done. I have now refereed at every club and have established a personal rapport with the players and the clubs. The clubs now know me and vice versa. Now I am looking to do bigger games and to have the understanding of the clubs and players that I am an established referee.

TheFA.com: And this year you are on the international list for the first time. What are your thoughts on that?

Rob Styles: Yes I am. This is my first year and like coming on to the Premiership list for the first year this will be learning about international football and looking to establish myself. I have already done 7 international matches.

TheFA.com: Does that mean you will be spending a lot of time away from home?

Rob Styles: I will be out of the country a great deal. I think there will be between 30 to 40 days committed to being out of the country.

TheFA.com: What has been your biggest game so far?

Rob Styles: The biggest game, in terms of its importance at the time was the Division Two Play Off Final between Gillingham and Wigan. It was at Wembley, which fulfilled an ambition that every referee has. Also Gillingham had been there the year before to play Manchester City, which added to the significance of the occasion. 

My biggest game because of the honour was my first international appearance between Germany and Poland Under 19s. It was like a player winning his first international cap and that is what it meant to me.

TheFA.com: This year there have been one or two controversies. Are there more this season than last?

Rob Styles: I think it is better now than of late. Last year it was remarkable because it was controversy free especially when you consider the amount of games there were and how many decisions were made.

TheFA.com: How are relations between referees, the players and managers?

Rob Styles: I am not aware of any genuine animosity between referees and the players and managers. It is easy to pick out one incident or a relationship breakdown and try and apply it to all referees but that is not generally the case.

TheFA.com: Having recently turned professional, is it a good career?

Rob Styles: Well the point is that it is a career now. We have always had a structure. If you are in your mid 20s there is a definite career path with reasonable financial rewards. It is a good time to be a referee.

TheFA.com: What changes would you like to see brought into the game?

Rob Styles: I would like to see a nice period of stability, in other words, no changes. You can look at any law and not understand it and want to change it. I don't think the media understand the laws of the game over issues of engagement and this then creates misreporting and a clamour for change. I would like the media to be more accurate in reporting. Often I hear people in the media quoting the laws of the game incorrectly.

TheFA.com: Is the FA Cup Final an ambition of yours?

Rob Styles: The FA will appoint the top performing eligible referee to do the final. It is not inconceivable that myself or any of the 23 others who have not done the FA Cup Final to get it. It is not an ambition or goal and I have not set it as a season's goal. Having said that every referee from the local park up wants to do an FA Cup Final. The closer to the top then it becomes more possible. You do not have to be an international referee to get the job. It is not a governing factor.

TheFA.com: Do you feel that there is more scope internationally for you then?

Rob Styles: The main aim is to get established and known. There is the Champions League plus a full international to aim for. Then after that there are World Cup qualifiers and the World Cup itself, so there is plenty of room.