Thursday 19 October 2017 18:56, UK
Ahead of his side's clash with Birmingham on Saturday, live on Sky Sports, Ryan Tunnicliffe discusses playing with Paul Pogba, winning the FA Youth Cup at Manchester United and getting back on track with Millwall...
"He liked to do his skills, his tricks and his nice touches and I did the dirty work," Millwall's Ryan Tunnicliffe says with a smile as he remembers playing alongside Paul Pogba in Manchester United's academy.
Sitting down with Sky Sports on a drizzly morning at Millwall's south London training ground, the 24-year-old midfielder lights up when he's asked about those early days in his career.
The teenage Pogba was a hot talent at Manchester United and Tunnicliffe describes him as a "standout player" in the club's 2011 FA Youth Cup winning side. "You could see he was going to be a very, very good player," he said. "We gelled well together, though. I ran about and put a few tackles in so he could get the glory!"
Tunnicliffe is playing down his ability. After all, it was the local lad from Heywood, not Pogba, who was presented with the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award at the end of that season. Tunnicliffe's name sits alongside that of Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Danny Welbeck on the list of winners of that prestigious prize.
He may not have had the flair of his French central midfield partner but Tunnicliffe excelled alongside Jesse Lingard, brothers Will and Michael Keane and Ravel Morrison, players he had risen through the ranks with at United.
Following a successful stint at Peterborough, Sir Alex Ferguson rewarded him with his first-team debut in September 2012, a 2-1 League Cup win over Newcastle. It was a special moment for Tunnicliffe and his family - not least his father who won £10,000 after making a £10 bet his son would one day play for United.
"Winning the Youth Cup was a very fond memory," Tunnicliffe said. "That team I was with, I'd played with most of them since I was nine or 10 years old. We were very close and winning that competition is the biggest thing you can do at that level.
"To be voted as the youth player of the year that season, considering the players we had in the team and that a lot of them have gone on to play week in, week out in the Premier League, was a humbling moment. It was massive for me.
"But then making my debut, being a United fan, was probably the best feeling I've ever had in the world. It was a fond memory for my Dad too, with not only me making my debut but him also winning the money!"
Tunnicliffe made his second United appearance a week later but that 5-4 League Cup loss in extra-time to Chelsea was his final appearance for his boyhood club.
After loan spells at Barnsley and Ipswich, he was signed by Rene Meulensteen for Fulham in January 2014. It didn't go to plan. Within 25 days of arriving at Craven Cottage, the former United coach had been sacked, Felix Magath had been appointed and Tunnicliffe found himself loaned out to Wigan.
Two years on, despite earning some game time under current Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic at the start of last season before a second loan spell at Wigan, Tunnicliffe found himself out of contract. It was hard to take.
But while Tunnicliffe didn't fit into Fulham's plans, Millwall boss Neil Harris saw a player with the attributes required to fit into his newly promoted side, a team renowned for the aggressive, physical and direct approach which saw them win the League One play-off last season. "He's a Millwall-type midfield player," said the manager at Tunnicliffe's unveiling this summer, and the new arrival has clearly bought into Harris' vision.
"It suits me down to a tee," said Tunnicliffe, when asked about the attitude and ethos Harris demands from his players. "Every game I go into I always make sure I give 110 per cent because that's the one thing you can control. Some days your passing will be off but you can control how hard you work, your defensive shape, your recovery runs and the tackles you put in.
"If you look through the whole squad here, no matter who you put on the pitch, that's what you're going to get for sure."
Harris has certainly needed to utilise his squad's depth in recent weeks, with central midfielder Shaun Williams and centre-back Byron Webster suffering long-term injuries over the past month.
Williams' knee injury, though, opened the door for Tunnicliffe and while he says the team will miss the former MK Dons man - who had been the club's top chance creator so far this season - he is determined to step up and make his mark.
Tunnicliffe is ambitious to play in the Premier League, alongside his former Manchester United team-mates. But after his first two starts for Millwall both ended in disappointing defeats, first with a poor loss at home to Barnsley before a controversial 1-0 reverse at Brentford, in which Lee Gregory missed a late spot-kick and Millwall saw several other penalty appeals waved away, his focus is firmly on the present.
Next up is Birmingham this weekend, when Millwall have the chance to get their previously solid start to the season back on track, live on Sky Sports.
It's set to be a fast-paced fixture, with both sides similar in style and Tunnicliffe says he and his team-mates will have to be up for the battle.
"They're a big, physical side who like to compete," he said of Birmingham, now managed by Steve Cotterill. "We need to match them because that's how we play as well. When a new manager comes in it puts a spring in everyone's step, so they'll be trying to impress him and that will make it doubly difficult.
"But we just need to get back to what we're good at. It's a different way of football to what I've been used to in the past but when you get it right it works. If we're solid at the back we will score goals because of the way we play. It's just about taking your chances." Tunnicliffe is ready to do just that.
Don't miss the Sky Bet Championship clash between Millwall and Birmingham on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Football from 5.15pm
