Everton winger Dwight McNeil admits being released by Manchester United was tough to take.
McNeil faces his former club later today.
"My dad was a United fan and so was I," says McNeil to the Daily Mail. "I went there at five-years-old but at 14 the coaches told my mum and dad I was released and they told me on the way home in the car.
"It was hard for me to take and my parents main concern was that I was alright. United told us in March and said I could stay until the end of the season but we decided it was best to leave completely and I went on a six-week trial to Burnley.
"I think the feeling was to try and prove the people who made the decision wrong and I think I've managed to do that. Burnley helped me massively. While the quality wasn't as good, people were faster and stronger and I was in the first-team dressing-room at 17.
"Getting released by United was hard at the time but looking back now I don't have any regrets."