OLE’S WORST DWIGHTMARE
Mcneil back to haunt United and pal Mason I’M NO MIRACLE WORKER SAYS SOLSKJAER
DWIGHT MCNEIL can picture the scene in his head.
Training under the lights at Carrington with his mate Mason Greenwood, as his parents watch on from their position on the sidelines.
The pair were together at Manchester United’s academy, along with Brandon Williams and Angel Gomes, until he was released seven years ago, aged 14.
Mcneil recalls how lethal striker Greenwood stood out even then.
“The main thing I remember was training in the cage at night,” said the Burnley winger.
“It was all a bit of fun really, playing games in this small area. It improved me as a player, playing in tight areas.
“Mason was two years younger than me, but he played up with us. He was always good with both feet.
“You could tell with Mason how good he was at a young age. I know him personally and he’s a good man.”
The pals were reunited with the England Under-21s when Greenwood received his first call-up in 2019 but will face each other as rivals tomorrow at Old Trafford in the Premier League.
They have come a long way since those nights at Carrington and have taken different routes to the top.
“It’s great we’ve both achieved our dream to play in the Premier League and obviously Mason is doing so well at United,” said Mcneil.
“I’m happy for him and every time he plays, he does well. He’s had some criticism but I know he’s a good guy, and he’s come back scoring goals.”
Mcneil, 21, was devastated when he was shown the door by his beloved
■
United and he still has a shirt from his idol Ryan Giggs at his parents’ house.
It is laughable now they let him go because they felt his crossing was not good enough yet he is Burnley’s most creative player.
His dad, Matty, who played for Macclesfield and Stockport, and his mum never stopped believing and being dumped by United proved to be the making of him.
He joined Burnley, determined to prove them wrong, and made his firstteam debut within four years at 18.
Mcneil clocked up his 100th Clarets appearance against Newcastle last Sunday and said: “As a young kid, it’s a hard one to take, especially when it’s your dream club and the one you grew up supporting.
“It gave me that desire and determination to become a professional.
“I had a chat with my parents and decided the best thing was to come to Burnley and give it a go.
“It means a lot to me and my family to be only 21 and to have made my 100th appearance for the club.
“Hopefully looking back, I’ve proved some people wrong.”
Mcneil has been a regular under Sean Dyche for the last two-and-a-half years and his manager’s only criticism
OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER admits there will be no miracle from Manchester United in the title race this season.
Second-placed United trail Manchester City by 11 points but with a game in hand heading into tomorrow’s home clash against Burnley.
But boss Solskjaer has told Red Devils fans to stop dreaming of United catching Pep Guardiola’s leaders to land their first league title since 2013.
The Norwegian said: “Of course we’ll never give up. Manchester United will never, ever give up.
“This club has had too many is that he should smile more. “Yeah, he tells me every day I need to enjoy my football and smile more because I’m hard on myself,” he said.
“The gaffer’s good like that and he knows how to get the best out of everyone.”
Mcneil manages a smile when asked about Burnley’s survival chances and he is confident Dyche can lead them to a sixth successive season in the top flight.
“I’ve no concerns about our league position,” he said. “We’re looking forward to a big game on Sunday against United and we think we’ll stay in the Premier League.” setbacks and too many great comebacks to have it in our DNA. Is it realistic? No, probably not.
“When you have a team that is so consistent as Manchester City have been, you don’t expect them to lose three games out of the last six. As long as we do our job, we want to finish the season strong and go one game at a time.”
United are on course to finish one place higher than last season and have also reached the semi-finals of the Europa League for the second time in succession.
Solskjaer believes his team have made progress this season but admits United have to be challenging for the title next time round because that is always the ultimate goal.
He said: “You’ve got to make progress, step by step, that’s the reality.
“If we can manage second place and keep winning and get second, even if Manchester City win all their games and we win ours, you want to finish strongly.
“Third last year, second this and close to a trophy. It’s progress.
“It’s not the end game – the end game is winning the league.”
Despite his lofty ambitions,
■
Solskjaer admits United might never be able to replicate all the success Sir Alex Ferguson achieved at Old Trafford.
He added: “We are not in the era of Sir Alex and we’ve had a transformation period since he left. That always would happen because there was nobody better – and never will be.
“He was the boss. He was the one who was always difficult to replace.
“But it’s progress, step by step, and if we do that well enough, that is when you get trophies and league titles which, of course, is our ambition – for titles.”