Daniel Nardiello is nearing a long-anticipated return. The Bury striker has been out of action since pre-season (his last competitive match was back in May) but the wait is almost over. An unused substitute for their last two matches, Nardiello assured me that he was not only raring to go, but that he hasn’t felt this fit in several years. This is down to the handiwork of his good friend James Jowsey.

Teammates when they were cutting their teeth at Manchester United, Jowsey’s career took a different direction after failing to make the grade as a goalkeeper at Old Trafford. He’s a still a safe pair of hands however. Now an accomplished sports therapist, he quickly addressed Nardiello’s problem, a back injury called a Schmorl’s Node.

Injuries have been mildly disruptive to the striker’s career but they haven’t stopped him scoring more than one hundred goals across the Championship, League One and League Two. Not that he’s counting.

“I was talking about this the other day in the treatment room with the lads and I actually don’t know how many goals I’ve scored,” he says. It leads to a chat about how one essentially measures success. “I know that I’ve got more than 100 league goals because I was presented with a shirt last year. I don’t know how many goals I’ve got in total. Obviously I like to score goals, it’s a great feeling and I want to be top scorer at every club I go to. I’ve been the top scorer for the last four or five clubs I’ve been at, I remember that, but the things I remember the most are the promotions.

“I know that I’ve had promotions with Barnsley, Blackpool, Rotherham and Bury. So I suppose four promotions in a ten, thirteen year career is pretty good. But I’ve also had one relegation. Those are the things I remember more than the exact amount of goals to be honest.”

A product of the United academy, one could suggest that Nardiello was destined to succeed in front of goal. He was prolific for the club’s youth and reserve teams, studied the play of world class strikers up close and even received tips from them on how to improve as a forward.

He remembers learning from Ruud van Nistelrooy. “At the time we had Neil Bailey and Dave Williams as youth team coaches. They always used to send us to see the first team and watch the strikers. They would tell us to watch van Nistelrooy’s movement on the pitch or his hold-up play when he receives the ball. Things like that.

“He was just the ultimate goalscorer, wasn’t he? He was pretty good in the air, great at holding on to the ball, he was strong, he could even run with the ball to a certain degree. He was a great all-round striker. But his ability in front of goal was class. I used to do a few finishing sessions with him and he was simply brilliant. He could pass it into the net, he could smash it, dink it. He had everything in his locker.”

Van Nistelrooy, in the news recently after Jamie Vardy broke his Premier League record for scoring in successive games, was also a nice bloke, Nardiello says. “When I was in the Wales squad for a friendly against Holland in 2007, I wasn’t sure he would remember me. But he was the one who actually came over to me! He said, ‘I see you’re at QPR now, how’s it going’. He was just a really friendly, down-to-earth, nice guy. I asked him for his shirt at the end of the game and he gave it to me.”

Despite only making two appearances for the United first team – before moving to Barnsley in 2005 on a permanent deal after two loan spells at Oakwell – Nardiello has very fond memories of his time with the Red Devils. In fact, he still supports the club, admitting that he checks their results at the weekend.

The dressing room was full of strong characters, mentors to young professionals. Mind you, there were some players who wouldn’t give rookies the time of day. But for the most part the United senior players were humble stars. Nardiello praises Roy Keane, insisting that he’s not the growling lunatic that the media always portray him to be.

He remembers when his Barnsley side played Sunderland during Keane’s time in charge. The former United captain came over to him after the game and, knowing that he wasn’t have the happiest spell of his career, told him to keep plugging away and to not lose faith. Gary Neville was a similar character, looking out for younger players. “One thing I can say about Neville is that he was the ultimate professional. I remember him having a few chats with me over the years when I was in the youth team, trying to help and guide me. Almost giving me a kick up the backside, telling me to get my act together because I was a great player.”

A man who has always remained rooted in his community, Neville popped in for a visit to the Bury players last season before promotion. “Even then you could see that his knowledge of the game was second to none. He brings that quality to everything he does, like Monday Night Football.”

The interview was conducted on the day after Neville was announced as the new Valencia manager. He lost his first game in charge against Lyon last night, but Nardiello thought it was a smart move by the Spanish club. “I think he’ll do really well there [at Valencia]. But I’m a bit gutted because I love my Monday Night Football and his chemistry with Jamie Carragher.”

This mention of the popular Sky Sports show led me to ask if footballers admire Neville’s effect on punditry. “Absolutely. I mean, no disrespect to the other guys, but I think, in terms of punditry, he put all the other pundits to shame. I mean, everyone loves him. Even the Liverpool fans! The two of them are great. The way Neville dissects the game, how he picks it apart – there’s no hiding place when he’s watching.”

This is the first part of a Bleedin Deadly interview with Bury striker Daniel Nardiello. To see what Nardiello thinks of Louis van Gaal and what defines a good manager, read part two. Give it a click there.