Manchester United are on their pre-season tour right now but one player whose absence is being felt the most is Kobbie Mainoo.
The youngster is on an extended holiday after leading England to the Euros final, coming to the tournament as a fringe member and leaving it as the first name on the team sheet.
It mirrored his rise at United, where he started last year’s pre-season as an exciting prospect and ended it as a FA Cup winner in a team he made tick.
Now, Mainoo has revealed what makes him tick and how he has handled his rapid rise in his first interview since the Euros final.
Kobbie Mainoo tell-all interview
Mainoo is in the USA for his holidays but he is not expected to join up the United squad. He is spending his time unwinding after a rollercoaster of a season.
He was recently seen leaving fans in awe at his skills on Venice Beach and after that passage of play, talked about what makes him tick, the importance of standards, and his dizzying rise to the top in an interview posted on United View’s YouTube channel.
On using anger as motivation to perform better, Mainoo had the response one would expect from a seasoned professional who has done it all.
He said: “Some people use anger as a motivation, but you can only use that for so long, but with happiness, you can go forever playing off happiness. Losses, you take them on the chin. They hurt for a bit but you use them as fuel for winning the next time.”
Mainoo has set the standard for midfielders at United in quick time and has been praised for his attitude and professionalism. He stressed the importance of setting standards leading to a virtuous cycle of competence.
He said: “It’s always great to try things, and you can have off-days, but if you’re working hard in training, trying things as a team and just pushing each other as a team, because if you work hard, that means I’m going to work hard.
“If I’m watching you slack off, that’s going to make me think ‘Oh, it’s not that serious, I can take it easy’ but if I see you working hard I’ll think ‘I need to go harder as well'”.
Mainoo then talked about the crazy heights he has reached within just the first year in senior professional football, saying he is just taking things “one step at a time”.
He said: “It’s crazy, it’s happened so quickly. I really broke through in November, then to play for England, then to play in the Euros, it’s happened so quickly, it’s crazy, but just take it one step at a time.”
Attitude>Skill
Mainoo’s responses make it clear that he is a model professional who hasn’t gone blind under the intense spotlight that comes with a breakthrough.
He has taken every step of his career in his stride and continued dominating, relishing the challenges that come with it with extreme professionalism and sincerity.
When combined with his world-class skill and ability, he has all the ingredients to become a legend of the game when all is said and done.
Of course, that is a long way to go yet but nothing Mainoo has shown so far will give any cause for concern when it comes to his development.
Attitude matters more than skill in development as one can be taught, the other can’t. Mainoo seems to have it both in spades.
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