This is not merely on the field but off it as well and many Reds speak of growing up and becoming a man by being placed in a new situation away from the club where many have spent their entire young lives. Gaining independence and learning new skills, they still retain assistance from United and support when required.
Les Parry, the former Tranmere Rovers boss, is the Academy performance manager and charged with the responsibility of keeping tabs on those sent out to other clubs. It’s a full-on role and one he embraces with enthusiasm and a real sense of care for the players.
“I generally talk to them, definitely on Monday after a weekend and definitely on a Friday to find out whether they’re playing,” he told Inside United. “Then I go and watch a midweek game and watch a weekend match as well. The other staff go to watch games, particularly the goalkeeping coaches, but I’ll attend a Saturday fixture and then, on Sunday, watch all the games before speaking to them to discuss how they’ve done. I also watch them train maybe once every six weeks.
“I’m quite fortunate that my background is in the lower leagues as I usually know somebody at a club. This is quite good as it means I can speak to somebody, usually the manager, to find out how our boys are doing.”
There are new experiences awaiting all of the youngsters – Kieran O’Hara washes his own kit at Macclesfield Town, Matty Willock is staying in a small apartment above a shop at St Mirren and Regan Poole had to contend with three different managers during his single season at Northampton Town.
“It’s unbelievable the level of care they get here,” explained Parry. “Everything is top notch but you don’t have to go very far down the ladder to go somewhere where that’s not the case. It opens their eyes a little bit. When I spoke to Devonte Redmond last season [after his spell at Scunthorpe United], he said it was nice to get out of the United bubble. He didn’t mean that in a horrible way but was being realistic about the world out there.”
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