'Score today and I'll buy you champagne' - Sammy McIlroy on playing with George Best and being Manchester United's last Busby Babe

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

When a teenage Sammy McIlroy was about to make his Manchester United debut in a derby at Maine Road, his fellow countryman George Best wandered over to have a word.

McIlroy had felt compelled to make the move to Old Trafford to follow in the footsteps of his idol and now not only was he sharing a pitch with him but the two Northern Irishman were friends.

Best had some words of wisdom to share before the youngster's debut. "Score a goal today and I'll buy you a bottle of champagne," Best told McIlroy.

There was never any real tactical insight from player to player, the belief was if you're already at United then you're good enough, but this was Best's way of lightening the pressure on McIlroy's shoulders. READ MORE: 'This guy is a genius' - The United coach who helped Ronaldo become the best player in the world A couple of hours later, after a thrilling 3-3 draw in November 1971, McIlroy had a bottle of champers on its way, having scored on his debut thanks to the assistance of Best. "He was having his shirt pulled off his back by Tony Book, I think if I hadn’t followed up the ball coming away from George he might have got a penalty," McIlroy tells the Manchester Evening News. "But I was so happy I followed it up and put it past Joe Corrigan, it was a tremendous feeling to score on your debut." A couple of days later Best was true to his word and the pair posed for a photo at Old Trafford. "Monday morning George brought the champagne in, we were playing Stoke City in the League Cup that night and we met at Old Trafford and had a photograph of George giving me the bottle of champagne," said McIlroy, speaking in a suite at Old Trafford cricket club as he promotes his autobiography, The Last Busby Babe. "I didn’t have the