The link between Manchester United and Peterborough United has certainly been strengthened tenfold since the arrival of Darren Ferguson as manager at London Road, but there is another member of the Old Trafford back-room staff who would certainly be recognised at Posh.

In fact, this individual actually holds a club record at London Road, making the most consecutive appearances, a total of 124 and it is ironic that one of the most memorable moments of his time at London Road came against the club he now works for. The man we are talking about is Eric Steele who made 148 appearances during his career at London Road.

'One of the biggest games was Manchester United away in the cup and although we lost 3-1 we had a great day. Everyone thought we were lambs to the slaughter but we came and gave a great account of ourselves. I always remember the league wins in the build up to the championship, in addition to that the whole season was fantastic the games where at times a blur because we just kept on winning and we were so confident that we would go on and win it.

'The games were very competitive and we used to get crowds of 10,000 plus which made our home ground a very special place to be. People didn't relish coming to London Road because of the fact we had built a really good atmosphere. The wind used to come across the Fens and cause a problem or two. There is a lot of good times to remember.

'I remember the cup match against Nottingham Forest, which was the first match to be played on a new years day. The great man Brian Clough was manager for Forest back then and I remember they had two big lads upfront in John O'Hare and Barry Wilkins and we drew 0-0. We brought them back to London Road and won the game 1-0 with Jon Nixon scoring and I remember the night had horrible conditions and that set us up for the great tie with United,' Steele recalled.

The goalkeeper joined Posh in 1973 from Newcastle United, initially on-loan, before then boss Noel Cantwell ensured the 20-year-old signed a permanent deal. He eventually commanded an £18,000 fee when he moved to Brighton and Hove Albion after a successful period at London Road.

'Peterborough United gave me my first and biggest chance, I went there and played 148 games after I had left Newcastle United on a loan deal initially but coming here gave me my biggest insight into first team football. John Barnwell was assistant manager and he was terrific in terms of he took me under his wing and looked after me. I didn't realise at the time but he was coaching me from afar and getting a lot of ideas from Alan Hill who was assistant manger at Derby and an ex-goalkeeper.

'I will always remember the Championship winning year, I played 20 games and then I eventually signed. I have good memories of some of the players like Chris Turner who was a great character and people like Jack Carmichael and then some of the older and more experienced players like Bert Murray, Freddie Hill and Jeff Lee. The strikers were Jonny Cozens and a young lad at the time Dave Gregory.

'We had a good squad and a good group of players, so it was no surprise when we went up as champions. It was a big, big highlight of my career and it was the start of many promotions I had during my career. I always look at Peterborough as being my bedrock even though Newcastle was my first club as a professional. There were a lot of good people at Peterborough especially the manager Noel Cantwell, who was a great character and ex-Manchester United. Peterborough wasn't the size you would know it now, but the club was extremely friendly and had good support.

'Noel and his wife Maggie cared a lot for the players and not just what we did within the club, but outside as well. There was a good social environment and we used to involve all the wives, girlfriends and families and that all really came from the top as it normally does. Noel was inspirational and we had some really good times and a special spirit which came from the top.

'Carmichael and Turner were the biggest jokers at Peterborough. We used to call them 'sniff and snuff' when we used to play five-a-side out the back of London Road, there used to be a patch of grass I don't know if it is still there, it's probably a car park now. The two used to call themselves 'smash and grab' but we changed it to 'sniff and snuff' and they were the main jokers by far. Everything used to come from Chris Turner who was the centre of attention but what a good man, a loyal servant and a decent player too. Tommy Robson was another character and a fellow Geordie.

'Bert Murray came from Chelsea and has some amazing card tricks and stuff like that. A lot of the time back then we had to make our own fun and that is when you see a lot of the characters come out. I have seen two or three of my old team-mates over the years, as some of them have stayed in the game. Chris Turner I have seen a number of times, Tommy Robson and Mick Jones I have seen a few times as well as Mick has stayed in the game as a coach and now an assistant manager,' Steele continued.

Steele was shocked to learn he still owns the club record for consecutive appearances, but admits he is proud to still be in club folklore and insists that Peterborough are one of the first results he looks out for on a Saturday afternoon.

'I didn't know I still held the club record. I thought that would have been beaten by now. I was only a young lad when I signed for Peterborough at 19 years of age. I had my 20th birthday virtually just as we won promotion. I always remember my time at Peterborough and it has a big place in my life. It gave me the base of my career and I went on to gain promotion with Watford, two promotions with Brighton and two with Derby.

'I always classed myself as a good professional and I was delighted when Posh gave me that chance and they set me up on the coaching side of things as well. John Barnwell was a big one for pushing the players but at the same time gave very good support. You could go up to him and ask him for advice and that was a good breathing ground for a lot of the players and coaches.



'Loads of matches stick with me from my time at Peterborough. I can remember when we had one of the best defensive records, we kept going away and drawing games or winning games and keeping clean sheets and John Barnwell again was very good in training and stimulating that we build from the back.

'I always look for the Peterborough United results every week, when you have been with a club you cant help but look out for them. I can't help but look out for Newcastle scores because I am a Geordie through and through. I still look for Brighton, Watford and Derby where I live now. The Posh will always be in my memory and probably more so now because the manager and myself joke about not backing Darren at certain matches because we didn't do very well there,' Steele joked.

As his career was progressing, Steele was already thinking of his coaching credentials and it all began in the city with a team called Western Star, who will playing in the Peterborough League.

'I have always wanted to stay in the game as a coach, not necessarily specialist coaching like I am doing now. During my time at Peterborough I was coaching then. I coached a local team called Western Star playing in the Peterborough League. They were sponsored by Hereward Sports, I don't know if they are still around?'

'So I was coaching even back then but that was involving all types of coaching which I have been doing from a young age, outfield and specialist. I started that way and then during my career I continued to coach and I have always said that when I get to the end of my playing career I want to have as many options as possible and that is what I have done. I was qualified by the time I was 25 and then when the specialist qualifications arrived, I completed them as well. It was always the intention for me to stay involved in the game in one way or another.

'The Eric Steele Coaching Services is still going strong and I have had that for 20 years now. During the off-season which was a lot longer back then than what it is now, I went abroad to Switzerland, Germany, Holland and coach there for a few weeks at a time. I have also been over to America and Australia and that is really what the company has been set-up as, purely for me to go out and explore new avenues which was great. I received plenty of new ideas, saw different set-ups and I even watched other sports, not just football. I threw every last minute I had spare into it.

'I got involved with the FA, working with the development teams and I have worked with young goalkeepers from when they are age 15 right up to 21 and I have been doing that now for about 14-15 years. It has been amazing how things have just come along, which has given me the opportunity to do what I'm doing now.

'Things are done very differently abroad, when I went to Italy and watched Del Parma who was the coach to Gianluigi Buffon and the Italians were very much gymnastics-based in terms of their training. In the work I do now as a coach I believe we should train more as an athlete as supposed to a goalkeeper.

'When I was in Germany and Holland there is a greater emphasis on thee use of feet. At Ajax, one of the biggest clubs in the country, their kids train outdoors and outfield until they get to the age of nine when someone says who wants to be a goalkeeper so I have taken that onboard as well. Holland as a nation has produced some very good footballing goalkeepers because they have that greater emphasis on the use of feet.

'If you look at America and Australia the facilities out there shows what we are lacking. You just have to look at the facilities at Carrington and that is what an academy of sport is like in Australia. These types of buildings have everything from sports science, swimming pools and gyms which America and Australia have had for maybe 10, 20 years. It has only been in the last five or ten years that you have seen academy's being built and facilities improve over here.

'In Australia they believe that you can produce great athletes if you give them the surroundings and that doesn't just mean the buildings but the specialist types of coaches as well, which is something again I have learnt. I get involved with the sports science coaches, the video analysis, the outfield coaches and the physiotherapist, and for me that's all part of producing what we hope to be the best goalkeeper,' Steele said.

How did the coaching start though? Where did it all begin and what other interests did Steele have when he was coming out of the game? He actually bought a restaurant before being taken on by Wolverhampton Wanderers.

'When I came out of the game at 34, I brought a pub/restaurant in the Midlands, unlike a lot of other footballers who just managed one, I brought this one outright. I had 21 staff with 11 of them full-time. I actually studied business management whilst I was at Peterborough and started a management diploma course in Peterborough but finished it in Brighton and I used to say that will be one of the strings to the bow when I finish.

'After three months of buying and setting-up the business, I got started the long road of coaching. Graham Turner was manager of Wolves at the time asked me if I could be used as cover because they had a goalkeeping crisis and in the end I wasn't needed but he said why don't I stay on and coach and eventually after six years of having the pub I sold it on and went into coaching full-time.

'When the years roll on you don't tend to miss playing much because you cant physically do it anymore but the next best thing to playing is definitely what I am doing now. When you're working with the goalkeepers you tend to kick up to 800 balls a week. You can see why people who finish playing stay in the game as a coach. I hung the gloves up along time ago, there is a line you have to cross when you get to my age. I play a bit of golf now and a game of tennis but I don't miss playing because I am still heavily involved in the coaching side of things.

'It was quite a turbulent period before I came to Manchester United. A very good friend of mine, Tony Coton who had been here at Manchester United for ten years, unfortunately retired due to injury last Christmas. The job became available back then but I was committed to a three-year contract with the enemy across the way, Manchester City with Sven Goran Eriksson.

'As time rolled on at the end of last season, Sven as you know was a victim of the Shinawatra reign, as was I and the rest of the backroom staff and when Mark Hughes was brought in he brought new staff in with him.

Fourth Division Championship Winning Squad
Back Row: Keith Oakes, Chris Turner, Jim Hall, Dave Llewellyn. Middle Row: Bert Murray, Jack Carmichael, Eric Steele, Mick Drewery, Mick Jones, Keith Bradley, Tommy Robson.
Front Row: John Barnwell (Coach), Paul Walker, Freddie Hill, John Cozens, Dave Gregory, Jeff Lee, Noel Cantwell (Manager).

'I had a turbulent summer and I was working with Blackburn Rovers whilst I was waiting for Manchester United to make a decision and I ended up only being at Blackburn for 24 days. The main boss, Sir Alex, gave me a call after about two hours after I actually signed for Blackburn so in the end it was quite a turbulent pre-season and I ended up joining United two weeks before the season started.

'I have worked with some great goalkeepers in my time. I worked with Peter Schmeichel when I was with Aston Villa who is one of the great goalkeepers of all-time and a Manchester United legend. Tomas Sorensen is another one at Aston Villa who was a Danish international and played in the European championships.

'I have also worked alongside other great goalkeepers like Pat Jennings and Neville Southall and someone who I have great time for is Mart Poom from when I was with Derby County, he was a fantastic self-made goalie who we brought for very little money, also at Derby there was some good young goalkeepers, Lee Grant and Lee Camp who have gone on to make good livings out of the game. Joe Hart at Manchester City is another with a great future ahead of him not forgetting Peterborough's Joe Lewis!

'Obiviously here at Manchester United we have array of talent and Edwin Van Der Sar is a legend in his own right. Ben Foster and Ben Amos are two very good up and coming English talents and plus we have some very good young goalkeepers. I have been very lucky to work with such talent.

'Being at Manchester United now and working with Sir Alex Ferguson, there has been a generation of people that have come through Manchester United and have gone on from being great players to become great managers of coaches,' Steele added.

Steele is hoping to come back to London Road soon to watch the current team in action and he has been informed by Sir Alex Ferguson that is a certain embarrassing photograph that adorns the walls at Posh.

'Sir Alex teases me now because obviously his son is in charge of the Posh, so I get it all the time 'you played for the Posh' and he has said that there is still some old picture of me up at the stadium with the moustache. I will have to come and check that out,' Steele concluded.