I was too weak to succeed at United

MANCHESTER UNITED proved too big a stage for Mickey Thomas, who admits he lacked the mental strength to succeed at Old Trafford.

Thomas, who joined United from Wrexham in 1978, spent three years at Old Trafford, but a lack of confidence plagued him during his time there.

“I played a lot of games – 110 – in a short space of time at United, but it wasn’t me,” said Thomas. “I wasn’t relaxed, I didn’t had the same problem as me – he couldn’t handle it.

“Fans see players on the pitch and think they’re superhuman but they’ve got lives away from football, with their own problems, like all of us.

“There’s more awareness now of mental health, of the pressure on players and what it can do to them, but my era was tough, you had to be a proper man. If you said

ACTION MAN: Thomas shoots against Tottenham

feel comfortable. I found it hard there.

“I couldn’t relay to anyone what I was going through. When I hear about Roy Carroll turning to drink, I can understand that.

“We’re all human, we don’t know what goes on behind closed doors in people’s lives.

“Everyone used to think I was cocky but it was the opposite. That was a front.

“That’s why, when players aren’t playing well and I’m doing commentary, I don’t slag them off. I look at someone like Memphis Depay and think maybe he

you were a bit scared, they’d say ‘f*** o**’ and knock you out.”

The cocky veneer Thomas created served him well in 1993 when he was sent to prison for 18 months for money laundering, although he maintains his innocence.

“I had to pretend I was someone different and I did that to perfection,” he said. “It was horrific, though. I had to go through something I didn’t want to go through.

“I played for the prison team. I always wanted to be an inside forward, so I got my wish!”