Keeper-turned-striker Steele still inspired by Ferguson rocket

Luke Steele was once given a rollicking by Sir Alex Ferguson for being too casual while taking part in a Manchester United training-ground drill.

"He told us every moment matters. The way he said it scared me, but it was a great scare moment and I never did it again," the former goalkeeper and now non-league striker tells BBC Sport.

Steele, 41, played in FA and League Cup semi-finals, and for Greek club Panathinaikos in the Europa League, but these days he is in prolific form for YDP - a team formed from the Youth Dreams Project, external he co-founded in Peterborough in 2014.

A hat-trick last weekend took him to 20 goals in 11 games in the Peterborough District League, step eight in the non-league pyramid.

"I was 36 when I finished playing [professionally] but I started playing up front as a bit of a joke to keep fit," he said.

"I'm not good enough as a goalkeeper any more, and it's been a really good season for me. I've scored in all 15 games I've played in league and cup."

After starting his career at Peterborough United, Steele joined Manchester United in 2002, by which time Sir Alex had "already won everything" at Old Trafford.

He never played a first-team game in four years for the legendary manager, going out on loan to Coventry City before moving permanently to West Bromwich Albion.

But that training ground encounter has stayed with him through his subsequent career, both as a player and later as co-manager of Peterborough Sports.

"I knew from that moment that whoever I was training with, it had to be at a high, high level," he added.

United have been through six permanent managers since Ferguson left in 2013, so how does Steele view their struggles to replicate his success?

"It's been a tough time but how do you replace someone like that? People don't give other clubs enough credit - Manchester City, Liverpool, they caught up," Steele added.

"The level of professionalism dropped and it only needs to be two to five per cent and you're not going to win trophies.

"It's still a great club but other clubs have caught up and overtaken them."

From West Brom, Steele moved on to Barnsley, producing a brilliant debut display as they beat Liverpool 2-1 at Anfield in the 2007-08 FA Cup with a last-minute winner by Brian Howard.

Victory over Chelsea followed and although they reached Wembley for a semi-final against Cardiff City, their dreams of glory were ended by a 1-0 defeat.

Nine years later, Steele was in the Bristol City side that famously beat Jose Mourinho's Manchester United in the League Cup, only to then lose 3-2 to Manchester City with a place in the final at stake.

"Throughout my career, I've always had success in cups, starting with the FA Youth Cup. For a Championship player to reach two semi-finals is quite rare - they were unbelievable nights," he said.

In between, Steele took the bold move of playing in Greece, which also provided plenty of memorable occasions.

"Playing in the Europa League was a proud moment for me. I went abroad to try and do that and was involved in 20 games," he said.

"I wanted to play in the Champions League, but we kept getting beaten in qualifying."

He is, though, even more proud of his work with YDP - and they now have franchises in Peterborough, Cambridge, Oxford and Lincolnshire, with Leicestershire to come.

Their sessions are aimed at children at any level of ability and as well as offering football scholarships and an academy, they cover a variety of other sports and related skills, like cheerleading.

One of their students went on to play for Peterborough Sports in National League North, just two steps down from the English Football League (EFL).

But Steele said the project "was not intended to produce stars", adding: "We want to help loads of children play and enjoy sports, whatever their ability."

Steele has played as a striker before, for Peterborough Northern Star Reserves and Jubilee FC, but now he is the front man for YDP, who have been promoted three times since the team was formed four years ago.

At the same time, he is studying for a Uefa B coaching licence, having enjoyed his two and a half years as joint boss of Sports, which ended last September.

Coaching or management at a higher level does have an appeal and he said: "I want to do the badges even though I'm not 100% sure whether I want to do it in the future if a chance came about."

For now, what kind of reaction does an over-40 get from his younger - some much younger - team-mates at YDP?

"There's one player older than me - he's 42 - but while I'm scoring, they don't take the mickey out of me," Steele said.

"There's loads of great local talent and great local clubs and it's very humbling for me, and a privilege, to go to them. I believe there should be a [financial] kick-down from the higher leagues to help support them."