The Fame Academy: Butt has gone from playing with the Class of '92 to nurturing United's next golden generation

Nicky Butt knows that with the likes of David Beckham and Ryan Giggs alongside him he could never claim to be the best-known cast member of The Class of 92, the new feature-length documentary film about Manchester United’s famed youth side that will have a glittering West End premiere next weekend.

But none of that golden group of players has a more important job within Old Trafford now than Butt.

As manager of United’s Under-19s, it is his responsibility to nurture and develop the next generation of stars, the youngsters Butt hopes will once more disprove Alan Hansen’s old and infamous assertion that ‘you can’t win anything with kids’.

New beginnings: Nicky Butt is now on the coaching staff at his former club Manchester United

Butt, now 38, was the glue from Gorton, in Manchester, during a glorious period for club and country; a midfield general when United won the 1999 Champions League without suspended pair Roy Keane and Paul Scholes; and a World Cup quarter-finalist with England in 2002.

By that time, he had already taken his first steps into coaching, although there was little initial evidence that he would one day be placed in such a position of trust by the club he supported as a boy.

Mentor: Sir Alex Ferguson suggested Nicky Butt take his coaching badges aged 24-years-old

Italian job: (L-R) Butt, Beckham, Keane, Giggs and O'Shea celebrate a Champions League win against Juventus

‘I was about 24,’ said Butt. ‘We’d be twiddling our thumbs wondering what to do after training and the manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, suggested we did our coaching badges.

‘So me, Ryan, the two Nevs [Gary and Phil Neville], and Keaney [Roy Keane] all started doing our B licences and it went from there. If I’m honest, we just used to take the mickey out of each other.



'I don’t know how we passed! We used to video each other and you’d be looking for footballs and the likes of Scholesy would be kicking them out the way. He only lasted a week before he left.’

After retiring in 2010, Butt started to take it more seriously, ruling out a media career when he discovered that ‘every time I heard my own voice on TV, I couldn’t stand it’.

Back in the day: (left-right Giggs, Butt, Beckham, G Neville, P Neville, Scholes) accompanied by Terry Cook



Back to the future: The famous picture was recreated many years later with United boss Alex Ferguson



Ferguson asked him to help out at the United training ground and in the summer David Moyes appointed him to the Under-19s to play in the UEFA Youth League, which shadows the Champions League.

Times have changed since Butt was a 16-year-old dreaming of stardom. Younger players have better facilities and potential earning power but are also more fragile and distant.

‘I’d come off the bus from Manchester to Salford, walk down the road to The Cliff [United’s old training ground] and a first-team player like Mark Hughes, Steve Bruce or Bryan Robson would give you a lift,’ said Butt.

‘It’s different now because of the size of the place. Every morning you think, “Wow, look at the facilities”. But we had real unity at The Cliff. We’d all sit together in a small canteen after training so by the time you trained with the first team they already knew you.’

Butt was the joker of the pack, at the centre of any high jinks that went on in the dressing room. He has to be different as manager — and less aggressive than his coaches of yesteryear.

‘A natural winning mentality makes you want to bawl and scream but most of our players react better to a chat,’ he said. ‘You have to be a mate. I want to join in all the five-a-sides, I still think I’m 19 but then I see myself in the mirror and realise I’m not. The players have to know I’m serious when I need to be.’



Six of the best: Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt, David Beckham, Phil Nevile, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville (left to right)

He is not afraid to hold up his old team-mates as role models. With Scholes helping him on occasions to take training and Giggs playing with the first team on a nearby pitch, it feels natural. ‘I had Brian Kidd and Nobby [Stiles] around the place when I was 14. Of course I was going to listen to them, they’d won the European Cups, World Cup.

‘I’ll tell my lads like Ben Pearson, “Look at Scholesy, this is what you’ve got to do”. It’s a massive thing for them because they can look at Scholesy and know he went through the system and ended up achieving what he did. He was one of the best players ever.’

Ryan Giggs, who turns 40 on Friday, is the ultimate role model. ‘Of all the United players, Ryan deserves to be regarded in the highest esteem with Sir Bobby Charlton,’ said Butt. ‘To keep producing at this level for 22 years is phenomenal.

Been there, done that: Butt uses Ryan Giggs (left) and Paul Scholes (right) as role models for young players



‘I use Ryan as an example to one particular lad all the time. Every time Ryan trains he trains like it’s a game, everything at high tempo even if it’s for only 40 or 50 minutes. It’s something I like to get across to the kids — every time you do something it needs to have meaning.

‘If you sign at 16, you might be laying bricks by the time you’re 19 if you don’t give your all. And you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.

‘We try to keep the players humble. We ask them to shake everyone’s hand, say good afternoon or good evening. You do your best, just like bringing your own kids up, but there are no guarantees. If it doesn’t work, you have failed. But I have not seen too many lads here get carried away.’ Raised a United fan in a tough part of east Manchester, Butt is proud that seven members of his Under-19s team are English.

Buy British: Butt is pleased United have a core of English players such as Danny Welbeck (centre) and Tom Cleverley (right)

‘It’s easy to discard what’s on your doorstep,’ he said. ‘United have an identity: Mark Hughes, Norman Whiteside, John O’Shea, Wes Brown, Tom Cleverley, Danny Welbeck.

‘When you speak to parents, you can look them in the eye and say their lad has a chance here. It’s not a lie. Lots of players, like Richie Wellens and Robbie Savage, have come through and earned good money, even if they don’t make it at Manchester United.’

Like their senior counterparts, Butt’s team has a good chance of qualifying for the knockout stages of their Champions League. He will be in Leverkusen on Wednesday, then on Sunday put on his best suit for the red carpet.

Common theme: All but David Beckham from the Class of '92 have moved into coaching

The Class of 92 is the ultimate story of what can be achieved through football. The most remarkable part is that, Beckham aside, they are all still involved with United.



Butt left in 2004 after finding his first-team chances had dwindled. He joined Newcastle, but his heart remained at Old Trafford.

‘I started here at 11 and I’d like to be at this club for the rest of my life, coaching or managing,’ said Butt. ‘We’ve reached the end of our playing careers and United are kicking on by using us in other ways. When we move on, the kids here now will take over. It’s what great clubs do.

WHAT BECAME OF THE LIKELY LADS...

Ryan Giggs Has played for United more times (951 at the last count) than anybody else. Turns 40 on Friday but still playing. Nicky Butt Ultimately left United to get more first-team football with Newcastle but now back at Old Trafford as manager of United’s Under-19 side.

Paul Scholes Retired last summer after winning 11 Premier League titles. Known for his dry wit and loathing of the limelight.

David Beckham Fell out with SirAlex Ferguson but became the most famous footballer in the world and a multi-millionaire brand icon.

Phil Neville Younger brother of Gary, he left United for a highly successful second career at Everton. Now back as a United coach. Gary Neville

The most successful full-back in Premier League history, now a columnist for The Mail on Sunday and TV pundit.



