Growing Up: Michael Keane

Looking back, I just remember first kicking a ball around when I was three or four.

But I do recall quite clearly later on when me and my brothers were eight or nine, out playing on a local field near the house.

There’d be about 20 of us playing, we’d go around knocking on everyone’s doors to get us all out during the summer holidays.

It was unorganised, but it was fun and competitive so I think that’s where I found enjoyment in it, spending evenings out there playing in a big group and the format we’d play would just depend on the numbers we had.

One of the lads we used to hang around with was playing for a local club called South Manchester FC, so we went along to train with them and that was our first taste of organised football.

We loved it and we were there for two years and won the league twice, so you could also say that was our first success!

We’d train once a week on an astroturf pitch with the team, but every other night we’d still be out on the park practising too and then we’d play games at the weekend in Whalley Range.

It was local for us and I just have the best memories of it. I was playing in central midfield at the time and we dominated that league and were winning games every week so it was enjoyable.

The coach was a guy called Gary O’Neill and his wife Sharon used to help run the club and were a big help to us in those days and they tried to keep us as long as possible.

Once you’re there, it’s a big change as it’s very full on. I joined when we were ten and after training three times a week and playing games at the weekend against other clubs, you learn a lot very quickly.

But I just loved football and going to training every day. I’d get there early and leave as late as possible, and that’s probably the way I still am now.

My dad was a United fan as well, so he used to enjoy taking us and watching us play and then you as you just progress year on year.

It starts to get more serious as you move up and then you realise there’s a possible career at stake, so that’s when it becomes more intense. We felt like we were in the right place though, that’s for sure.

Although, you could say I was a later developer as I didn’t get a full-time scholarship at first when we finished school.

I had a part-time one, which meant I was also at college, but that just made me more determined to prove them wrong as it made me work even harder than I was doing and I got there eventually, when they gave me a professional contract a few years later.

We had a special group of young players at United at the time and the quality in training was so high, there were a lot of lads who’ve gone on to do well in the game.

The club had high hopes of bringing a few of us through to the first team together, but unfortunately, it didn’t quite work out like that.

My brother Will picked up a bad injury just after he’d broke through which affected him, and I moved on to play more games, as did a few of the other lads.