Stephen Quinn has always been renowned for his tenaciousness, but he took that to extraordinary lengths for much of last season.

The Dubliner wore boots two sizes too big after a pair of in-growing toenails threatened to curtail his campaign:

"It was the only way I could get through the games in the end," admitted Quinn, who tried everything in a bid to fight on before finally succumbing once United couldn't reach the top six.

"I was having an injection every couple of matches or so but they wear off after a while and my toes were on fire.

"It hurt like hell whenever I kicked a ball or went in for a tackle, but I didn't want not to be involved while there was still something to play for.

"With hindsight I probably shouldn't have gone out there because there's no doubt it did affect my form but we'd already had so many people missing out with fitness problems that I didn't want to make the situation worse."

Quinn underwent surgery twice in the summer to remove both nails and he is delighted with the outcome:

"They were taken out so they're not causing me any discomfort.

"I'm looking forward to being able to concentrate on my game and getting my best form back because I know it wasn't as good as it should have been last term."