DONALD FEELS WEARSIDE LOVE
Donald wants to play his way as he pitches up on Wearside after graduating from school of hard knocks at Old Trafford
Everyone knew Mourinho would bring in his own players
PAUL POGBA and Zlatan Ibrahimovic were the names on the lips of all Manchester United followers this summer. As Donald Love’s departure merited a passing mention amid the multi-million-pound influx, the Scotland Under-21 man was content in the knowledge that his name had left an eternal mark at the club.
It is etched beside many a star on the glass walkway connecting the academy building and first-team department. He even beat Marcus Rashford to the privilege in February.
‘At the training ground they have all the names of the academy graduates who have played in the first team on the glass,’ explained Love. ‘I walked past it for six years as an academy kid, looking at some of the great names.
‘I’m on there now. They had it up quickly after I played my first game and it’s there forever. Just to have your name there is a great thing, an honour. Now I have to prove I could have played at Manchester United. I’m not trying to prove people wrong but I want to show I can do it in the Premier League. It’s the best league in the world and I want to be part of it for many years.’
Depending on what global corporate sponsorship time zone you live in, Pogba’s £100million signing announcement was either one day or two before Love moved to Sunderland along with Paddy McNair.
The finality of saying farewell, for good, to a first-team future at Old Trafford was an act tinged with sadness. A former Manchester United manager, David Moyes, offering him top-flight football as part of his Sunderland revamp was an outlet packed with promise.
Love had deduced months earlier that the arrival of Jose Mourinho (below) as manager would probably force him to lower expectations and he suspected some more time out down the divisions on loan, following a stint with Wigan Athletic last term, might be on the cards.
He was recalled from the League One champions by Louis van Gaal in February amid an injury crisis and played in defeats at Sunderland and away to Midtjylland in the Europa League, earning him that engraved spot at the Aon Training Complex.
The chance to carve out a career with Moyes at Sunderland aged 21 on a four-year deal is a favourable outcome compared to some of the crash landings suffered by young players among the Old Trafford surplus over the years.
‘Gary Caldwell was good to me at Wigan, he put faith in me and gave me my league debut,’ said Love. ‘I think I needed that.
‘If I hadn’t gone there, I wouldn’t be at Sunderland now. I needed that taste of men’s football.
‘You then prepare yourself to drop down to the Championship to go and play because I’d not played many league games.
‘I wondered if I’d end up going down there and prove myself that I’m good enough to play Premier League. Then this came up and I wasn’t going to turn down the chance to stay in the league. ‘Everyone knew Mourinho would bring in his own and, the way he plays and works, he likes experience. I think that’ll be good for United. But, for me, I didn’t really wait around to find out if I’d be part of the squad.
‘There was a bit of sadness at leaving. I’d been there since I was seven. You get to an age when you kind of know you’ve got to move on. I’ve played for United and I’m proud of that.’
With three full appearances against Manchester City, Middlesbrough and Shrewsbury plus a substitute outing against Southampton last week, Love has already eclipsed his United firstteam exposure with Sunderland and operated both at right-back and central midfield. Moyes clearly witnessed
enough during his all-too-brief term as United manager to consider Love a potential top-flight performer. That act of faith is something Love and his Northern Irish pal McNair will be determined to vindicate.
‘I know how David Moyes works as I trained with the first team every now and again when on my scholarship,’ said Love.
‘I think it was going to be hard for any manager to follow Sir Alex Ferguson, but if you look at the time Van Gaal was given compared to Moyes, then I think he was definitely a bit harsh in terms of time to get the team playing his way.
‘I’d say his training in the last few weeks has probably made me into a better player already. You probably learn more off the training alone there than playing in, say, League One. He’s hands-on, the one that I’ve seen get involved in training and not just leave it to his staff. He shows you how he wants everything done.
‘If anyone puts faith in you, you’ll run through a brick wall for them. We’ve a tight-knit squad anyway and, in the games we’ve played, we’ve been unfortunate. Everyone has gone on about a relegation battle but I don’t see us getting caught up in that if we perform well.
‘I came on at centre midfield at the weekend because I can do a lot of running and get up to people. I like it there because you get on the ball. I think I could possibly end up playing there one day.
‘Hopefully, David Moyes will improve me as a player, figure out what my best position is and put me in. I can tell all the boys have got behind him. He’s the type of manager who takes players with him.’
Rochdale-born, Love qualifies to play for Scotland through his grandmother from Stranraer and has represented the age groups Under-17, 19 and 21.
His sixth Under-21 appearance must wait until Tuesday night’s European Championship qualifier in Ukraine as he missed Macedonia on Friday night due to suspension.
Family ties cemented his chosen international path and the Scottish influence has been so strong throughout his club career.
Little did Love know, however, that completing his transfer to Sunderland meant a 114-year link had been severed between Scotland and Manchester United.
For every year since 1902 there had been a Scottish international figure either in the dugout or representing the first-team squad.
‘It’s a sad ending to that link, I guess, and that’s a bit weird,’ Love acknowledged. ‘I hadn’t realised it had happened until mates sent me some stuff off social media about it.’