This week, with BEN THORNLEY, of Bacup Borough

HE was once on a par with messrs Beckham, Giggs and Scholes in the junior ranks at Old Trafford.

But Ben Thornley insists he has no regrets about failing to reach the dizzy heights of his former team-mates.

It would be easy to scoff at such a statement. After all, Beckham is living the high life in Spain as a Real Madrid and England icon, while Giggs and Scholes have long been among the first names on Sir Alex Ferguson's teamsheet.

However, there is a sincerity in Thornley's voice that indicates he means what he says.

It's a little over 10 years ago that the 29-year-old was plunged into a nightmare that aspiring young footballers don't even want to contemplate.

A reserve match incident left his career hanging in the balance when he was only 18. He required cruciate ligament surgery on his right knee just a couple of months after making his first team debut for United in a 2-2 draw at West Ham.

Honorably, Thornley refuses to name the culprit of a late challenge in a United Reserves match with Blackburn Rovers Reserves in 1994 - "It's in the past and it wouldn't be fair to the player or the club," he insists.

Steadfastly, he has battled back from an injury which could easily have led to a vastly premature retirement before his vocation had even got off the ground.

Now, after trials with Chesterfield, ironically, it's back in East Lancashire where the aimiable former Aberdeen and Huddersfield midfielder has found solace, after becoming to latest star name to join Brent Peters' revolution at Bacup Borough.

"Initially I chatted with Brent and he came across as a very ambitious bloke. He told me that wherever he had been he had always won things and always wanted to push people as far as they possibly could go," said Thornley, who joins former Old Trafford team-mate David May as well as ex-Huddersfield defender Ian Hughes and ex-Bolton and Wales goalkeeper Dave Felgate at West View.

"Dealing with lads I've played with is a bonus as well because, as anybody will tell you, when you move to a new place of work it can be very difficult so it's always nice when there are some friendly and familiar faces.

"The enthusiasm that Brent showed for the club and what he has tried to do with it since he took over was also a plus point.

"We've initially set down a number of games for me to play on a non-contract basis and it seems to be a good arrangement at this time. Something to put me in the shop window."

Bury-born Thornley had spent over a month on trial at Chesterfield in a bid to fight for a contract with the Coca Cola League One side.

But when a deal wasn't forthcoming, the long drive started to wear him down.

"It was taking me about an hour-and-a-quarter each way, and that's the furthest I've travelled to any club I've been at," said the winger, who lives in central Manchester.

"When I was at Old Trafford and Aberdeen I just rolled out of bed and the training ground was virtually on my doorstep.

"If they were to offer anything it would mean justifying whatever it was going to cost me for travelling but, unfortunately, it didn't get as far as that."

Peters offered Thornley a footballing lifeline which he was happy to accept.

And once he manages to shake off a calf strain, he can't wait to get to work on building up not only his fitness but also Bacup's aspirations to lift the North West Counties Division One title.

"My calf's something that I want to make sure is 100 per cent right before I start playing again," said Thornley who, off the pitch, is a self-confessed hands-on dad to nine-month old son Lucas. "The last thing I want is to come back too soon, play a game and then miss another four or five.

"Playing games is what I need to get my fitness levels back up though.

"I've played a couple of practice and reserve matches for Chesterfield, so it's not that long since I played 90 minutes.

"But I want to make sure that when I play competitive games I want to make sure I'm in the right frame of mind and conditioned physically."

He added: "I'm over my knee injury now. It's just one of the hazards of the trade - you get injured. Sometimes it sets you back, sometimes you recover and pick up where you left off.

"But I've absolutely no regrets whatsoever about the career I've managed to carve out for myself up to now. I'm still only 29 years of age - I don't want to be thinking I'm over the hill yet.

"If you look round at Teddy Sheringham and Stuart McCall who are still playing well into their 30s, and David Eyres is 40. That's something to aim for."