'I played for Man Utd under Sir Alex Ferguson - and now work on a building site'
Sir Alex Ferguson gave debuts to countless graduates from Manchester United's famed production line with many going on the become household names.
That isn't always the case however, with plenty having to leave Old Trafford to forge their name elsewhere. That was the case for Lee Roche, who turned out for United against Deportivo La Coruna in the Champions League in 2003.
The Red Devils were assured of qualification in Europe, but Roche's outing would be his one and only on the European stage and his time in Manchester would soon come to an end, beginning a spiral that eventually led to his retirement at the age of 27.
Now he plies his trade on a building site and is in no rush to talk about his career. Roche came through United's academy, enjoying a loan spell at Wrexham in the early 2000s before going on to make five appearances under Ferguson - one of which came as a starter against Arsenal in the League Cup.
Roche moved to Burnley in 2003, joined Wrexham two years later and then found himself signing for non-league Droylsden in 2007, where he would spend the remaining four years of his career.
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Now 42, he admits that he did not expect his career to end in the manner that it did, especially given the track record of academy players coming through the system at the Red Devils.
He told LFETV : "Definitely not. Especially when you sign for a club as big as Manchester United. You think you're going to be playing football until you're 35. The way things have turned out I've had to work, I've been working here for nearly three years and it's a bit of a change from playing football but you just have to get on with it.
Lee Roche made five appearances for Man Utd (Manchester United via Getty Images)
The defender played for the Red Devils in the Champions LeagueOne of Roche's other appearances in the famous red shirt came against Newcastle, which meant the defender had to combat the Premier League's all-time premier marksman - Alan Shearer. The legendary figure got the better of him and Ferguson was quick to hand out some advice.
He told Planet Football : “I did okay, but I remember Sir Alex talking to me afterwards because Alan Shearer had beaten me at the far post to win a header, so he told me to get up first and not let the forwards do that to me.
"I remember being in an airport after that and someone asked me for an autograph thinking I was Nicky Butt, so I signed it!”
Lee Roche now finds himself on building sites after retiring earlyThe PFA supported Roche after he left the footballing sphere and now he is a qualified plumber with his own cavity wall insulation business. The former footballer is also keen for players to have fall-back plans that would allow them to find work outside of football, should their careers ever end unplanned.
He said: “I have had a few fellow workers on the building sites asking me about United and how have I ended up here. It can get pretty tiresome so I don’t go shouting about that I played for United. I do think young players today should be made to train as something, so they know about the real world.
“Most of them probably don’t have a plan to fall back on if they don’t make it as a professional.”
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