Former West Brom winger Callum McManaman has no career regrets ahead of Man Utd FA Cup clash
Wigan striker Callum McManaman admits he found the high of becoming an FA Cup winner at the age of 22 impossible to match, but has no regrets about how his career panned out.
The Liverpool-born forward is back at his former club for a third time after being dragged out of retirement by current manager Shaun Maloney after spells at Albion, Sheffield Wednesday, Sunderland, Luton, Melbourne Victory and Tranmere.
McManaman appeared to have the world at his feet after his man-of-the-match performance in the 1-0 Wembley victory over Manchester City in 2013 but, three days later, he suffered a serious ankle ligament injury in the defeat at Arsenal which relegated the Latics after eight seasons.
His £4.75million move to the Baggies turned sour after a year with 20 appearances and no goals and a loan spell at Wednesday was the start of his personal tour around the clubs which saw him fail to make more than 29 appearances for any of them.
“Obviously at 22 winning the FA Cup it was hard to match. Afterwards I found it hard to get used to that,” said McManaman, now 32. “I still think I’ve had a good career. Could it have been better? Of course. Other players would say that about their own careers.
“But no-one can take that day away from the lads and myself.
“It was unbelievable, a great day and I loved it, but it’s a long time ago, and it feels even longer than 10 years ago. It feels like 20 years. Everything went right, and we scored at the perfect time.
“I’m just happy to be back here.”
The reason he is back with the League One side for a third time preparing to face Manchester United tonight is because FA Cup-winning team-mate Maloney got in touch in the summer following almost a year out of the game after his release from Tranmere.
Initially offered a chance to train, McManaman earned a one-year contract and will get a taste of the big time again with the visit of Erik ten Hag’s side.
“I have great memories but we’re looking forward to Monday,” he added. “All the lads are buzzing. The atmosphere around the place is really good. I don’t think we could’ve got a better draw to be honest. We’ve got nothing to lose. We just need to go out there, express ourselves and be confident.”
