TRIPPIER FLIES THE FLAG FOR ENGLAND, BURY... AND THE NEVILLE BROTHERS
KIERAN TRIPPIER is not just flying the flag for England in Russia – he is flying it for Bury and the Nevilles.
It is a stretch to say Gary and Phil put the unfashionable Lancashire town on the map, but if they helped to raise its profile, Trippier is happy to be a successor.
He explained: “Growing up watching England, you had Gary Neville and Phil Neville who lived around the corner from me in Bury.
“Following in their footsteps is an amazing feeling.
“I remember watching them grow up for Manchester United and the careers they went on to have.
“I am from Bury as well and I wanted to achieve the same thing and represent my country and play in the Premier League as long as I can.
“To be here now representing England in a World Cup is just an amazing feeling. We were from the same area in Bury – Greenmount – and to see them progress in the careers they had and to see the trophies they won, I wanted to represent my country from the same area and do well.”
Trippier, 27, has certainly done well.
His rise has not been meteoric, more the product of hard graft, but he still could not have imagined himself at a World Cup when he was relegated with Burnley at the end of the 2014-15 season.
He said: “I then signed for Tottenham, but it’s only been a year since I’ve been playing for England. To say I would have been in the World Cup squad – football is a weird game.”