Manchester United star Scott McTominay has hailed the club’s former youth academy coach Warren Joyce as one of the key driving forces behind his breakthrough at Old Trafford, labelling him as the man who “transformed” him as a player.
In what is probably one of the longest interviews McTominayhas ever given in his time as a professional footballer, the Man United central midfielder and Scotland international recently sat down with Jake Humphrey’s High Performance Podcast to shed light on his career so far.
Clarifying that it was his podcast debut, the 26-year-old spoke candidly about his physical struggles with growing as a young player, dealing with the pressure from fans, his relationship with ex-manager Jose Mourinho and more — including the people who helped him become a Premier League footballer.
While he noted several names in United‘s youth academy that he “couldn’t speak highly enough of”, McTominay singled out long-serving coach Warren Joyce who changed everything for him.
As he goes on to detail in the episode, the now first-team starter says that he remembers playing in the youth team for Paul McGuiness (former pro and fellow academy coach) and getting “roasted” by Joyce in front of “everyone” at half-time.
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“I wasn’t even playing that bad” — and his teammates agreed, says Scott — “[but] he just roasted me, he ridiculed me, he said: ‘You play like you won’t ever get nowhere’, something along those lines. A little bit too forceful but at the time it was just a test.”
Once you “move up to Warren Joyce”, McTominay says, “he does that every week. That’s the norm, so he was just preparing you for what’s to come and at the time I didn’t realise that.”
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McTominay went on to describe the Oldham-born academy drill sergeant as just that: “ruthless… running; all the games he would be on the sidelines screaming”. However, he reiterated that the treatment simply gets players ready for men’s football, stressing that “it’s never going to be all sunshine and rainbows when you go out on loan because that’s not football; people are playing for their lives, the mortgages, the kids, their family”.
Put simply, the number 39 said that once it became clear what he was trying to teach he just “bought into every single thing he ever told [him]” from that moment onwards and, even though he was only 16-18 years old, remained at the mercy of his gaffer, no matter the position or the words he used.
🚨🎙️| Scott McTominay: "People always say, 'you played as a striker when you were young'. That's not true. I played two games with Warren Joyce because we didn't have a striker. Every time I score a goal, people say that, but I've never been a striker. I've always been a… pic.twitter.com/yPfJLsY4Qv
Scott McTominay the goalscorer is still a relatively new side of him but a lot of that comes down to Warren Joyce too.
When asked if he thought such a constant and brutal approach was necessary or if there are other ways to go about steering a youth prospect in the right direction, he did concede that it isn’t one size fits all and it sometimes depends on the characters of those people, but he always knew he was trying to help.
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But it wasn’t just grillings and critique that the ex-Bolton centre-mid served up, McTominay revealed that he was a taskmaster in a different way, often telling him to go and target a senior player to “show him who’s the man” — something helped instil an extra level of confidence as he moved up the youth setup.
He even discussed how Joyce would come and drag a player out of the team jacuzzi if he thought they were getting too big for their boots or didn’t train hard enough to have earned the relaxation, adding: “He was brilliant with stuff like that, he would never let anyone get too comfortable.
“He would always say that the thing about the ‘Billionaire’s Club’: those players are in there because they’ve earned it and they’ve grafted their whole life to be like that”.
McTominay went on to declare Joyce “the best person that any young player could go and see in terms of being coached by”, crediting him with “transforming [his] brain” and how he thought about football as a whole.
Strong words indeed and by no means the first to echo them. Club legend Gary Neville told United writer Andy Mitten back in 2017, a few months after he was appointed the first-team manager of Wigan Athletic: “Warren was absolutely brilliant in the very difficult role of reserve-team coach.
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“He was excellent at man-managing individuals who were hovering and drifting between the ages of 19 and 21. They’d be going out on loan, they’d have had a taste of the first team and the buzz of playing for the reserves will have worn off because they want to be playing in front of big crowds for a first team.
“It can be an uncertain time for a player but he motivated them mentally and physically. He maximised the players’ talents, he’d push them like crazy; he’d do extra gym work and join in with the players as if to say, ‘We’re in this together’.
McTominay concluded the section on the youth ranks by stating, “The coaches at United are the best in the world at making young footballers feel like they can do anything and also not getting them too much on their high horse, because they’ll bring you straight back down to Earth and level you straight away”.
He reeled off the likes of former U23 coach, Neil Ryan, fellow academy stalwart, Dave Bushell, and Paul McGuiness as other figures who helped not only nurture talents and keep egos in check around the club, and it’s clear that the discipline trickled down from Joyce and Sir Alex Ferguson above him.
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Joyce remained at the club for another three years after Fergie retired but it’s clear that the same rigorous philosophy he ensured was maintained throughout the academy is still felt by many of the players and staff.
Now in charge of the Nottingham Forest B-team and helping hand academy graduates first-team minutes, we’re sure there’s a whole new generation of players getting the trademark Warren Joyce treatment and hopefully many more Scott McTominays who’ll thank him for it down the line.
Featured Images — High Performance Podcast/Nottingham Forest (via YouTube)
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Tributes paid to loyal Curzon Ashton FC fan and beloved volunteer Barry Thickett
Danny Jones
Tributes are being paid to a much-loved local football fan and loyal volunteer at Curzon Ashton Football Club, Barry Thickett, who sadly died last week at the age of 82.
Known to the majority around the Tameside Stadium and more throughout Greater Manchester’s non-league pyramid, Thickett was a long-serving supporter and assisted the club for many years.
Unfortunately, following a short period of illness which remains undisclosed, the die-hard fan passed away while most were wrapped up in the action from the FA Cup third-round ties this weekend.
Confirming the heartbreaking news with their fan base on Monday, 13 January, Curzon Ashton shared a single black-and-white image of Barry, which was met with an outpouring of heartfelt condolences.
As you can see, countless followers of ‘The Nash’ hopped on social media to pay their respects to a fan favourite figure who has been remembered, above all else, “a wonderful man” – overwhelmingly so.
Fellow fan Dr Andy Hershon commented, “I knew him via the Friday walking football. He always came to watch. Lovely bloke who loved to chat about the game. Will be sadly missed. RIP Barry”.
Multiple fans mentioned loving their “chats” with the local legend, who used to work as an area manager at the old Wilson’s Brewery in Newton Heath.
Perhaps most notably, Barry’s loved ones expressed their thanks to the club and all those posting touching tributes; his daughter Sara replied, “Thank you for such a lovely tribute. Dad would have been touched”, and son Gaz added: “Thank you for the lovely message, means a lot to the family.”
Player-manager Craig Mahon went on to write “Barry was a true gentleman and respected by all the team. Always there with his words of wisdom at half-time and full-time.
He will be sorely missed by everyone at Curzon Ashton FC. RIP Baz thanks for all you [have] done.”
Curzon Ashton are yet to announce any official plans for a Barry Thickett memorial service via the club, but he will no doubt receive an emotional observance when the National League North outfit travels to nearby Stalybridge on Tuesday, 14 Jan.
Their next home game takes place this weekend (Saturday) and we’re sure he’ll be given a proper send-off by all those who knew and loved him up on the terraces. Our thoughts go out to Barry’s family, friends and everyone at the club. Rest in peace.
Tyson Fury has announced his ‘retirement’ from boxing (again) along with a cryptic message
Danny Jones
Manchester boxer Tyson Fury has seemingly confirmed he is retiring from boxing once again for the third time?… We’re not even sure at this point.
The Wythenshawe-born juggernaut of the heavyweight division lost consecutive fights for the first time in his career following the defeat in a rematch against Oleksandr Usyk back in December 2024 and, for all intents and purposes, it looks like they may have been his final professional fight.
Having first argued that the judges favoured Usyk in the first fight due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine; Fury once again believed the decision was unfair in the second bout but, either way, he claims that the Riyadh Season showdown was his last appearance in the ring.
Taking to social media on Monday, 13 January, the 36-year-old said he wanted to keep the announcement “short and sweet”, proceeding to announce his retirement from boxing to nearly seven million followers on Instagram along with a somewhat cryptic message for them to take away with them.
If all is to be believed at this point, he seemed pretty positive and nonchalant about the whole thing. He proceeded to state that he’s “loved every single minute” of his career, adding “God bless, everybody and I’ll see you on the other side.”
There wasn’t too much to read into with his caption either, which simply read: “Thanks, it’s been a blast. Thanks to everyone who helped out along the way! Happy New Year. Jesus is king now and forever”.
However, it was the penultimate line with which he signed off that has raised an eyebrow among a lot of those reacting to the news online, as he referenced infamous highwayman and thief, Dick Turpin, who famously wore a mask to conceal his crimes during the 18th century. Interesting indeed.
People online have been speculating plenty around exactly what he might have meant with this mysterious remark but many that it could just be another nod towards the belief that he was ‘robbed’ of a victory in Fury vs Usyk 2, having claimed the latter was given an “early Christmas gift.”
Regardless, plenty are expecting it won’t be long before Fury comes back out of retirement to lace his gloves back the very second the right offer comes in for him to finally fight Anthony Joshua, even if both of them aren’t quite the dominant name they once were when the face-off was first floated.
Most crucially, the general consensus is that Tyson Fury isn’t really retiring because this, of course, isn’t the first time he’s claimed he was calling it a day.
‘The Gypsy King’ famously ‘retired’ for the first first time over a decade ago after the plans for his fight against David Haye fell apart for the second time back in 2013, making the announcement with nothing more than a few dismissive words on the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Then, in 2017, we did the dance all over again after a string of teases and ‘pranks’ towards the end of 2016 which culminated in him writing in a since-deleted post: “Been very blessed in my life & career achieve the utmost in boxing, was a epic journey along the way.
“Thanks to all the fans that supported & believed in me along the way. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. THE END.” But it obviously wasn’t the end…
He was back in the ring by 2018 and Fury went on to declare that his 2022 win over Dillian Whyte was his farewell fight before going on to fight Derek Chisora just six months later.
You can see how people have trouble believing that it’s for real, right?
Whether or not he is being serious this time, only time will tell but one thing is for sure is that fans would still love to see him and AJ come up against each other if a fight contract were to materialise after all this time – especially as they both have a point to prove given their recent respective records.
As for Fury, one clip that came back to haunt him in the wake of the rematch against Usyk will remain a lasting memory for many of those who have followed his career from the start to now:
Danny Jones -
17th January 2024 
