West Ham United defender Will Greenidge thrilled to face former boss in Papa John’s Trophy clash
West Ham United youngster Will Greenidge is relishing the opportunity to face MK Dons head coach Liam Manning in Tuesday’s clash at the Stadium MK.
Manning is Greenidge’s former boss, the Dons coach spent four seasons at West Ham, helping young players like Greenidge towards their goal of becoming professional footballers.
The 20-year-old said that Manning was a “good manager and coach” during his time at the Hammers and the youngster has fond memories of working with him.
Speaking to WestHam.com, Greenidge admitted he is thankful for Manning’s guidance during the early stages of his career, something he believes has helped him get to the point he is now.
“Liam was a good manager and coach with the Academy,” the 20-year-old said.
“I remember he was big on man-management. He liked to talk to players individually and get into their programmes with them. He was a very good coach to have around.
“When I first played for the U21s, he was working with Terry Westley as the coaches for the squad. That was a big moment in my career and I’m thankful to both of them for that.
“I know they’ve not had the greatest of starts this season but they’re still a good team and it will be a big test for us.”
Decent.
Greenidge is a decent talent to keep a look out for and has been at West Ham United since the age of six, working his way through the ranks of the academy system.
His versatility is arguably his most intriguing attribute, the defender is able to play anywhere across the backline, but favours the right-back position.
It’s this versatility that will draw comparisons to another Hammers academy graduate, Ben Johnson, who is also able to play in multiple positions in the defence.
Greenidge helped the U23s to a second-place finish in the 2021/2022 campaign in the Premier League 2 narrowly missing out on the title to Manchester City.
An unfortunate injury before Christmas hampered his season, but a strong comeback in March showed the defender is mentality ready for the harsh realities of being a professional.
Hopefully, 2023 can be the year where Greenidge starts to catch the eye of David Moyes and catapult himself into the first-team squad like Johnson did last term.