ELLA TOONE on sharing a Man United shirt quantity with Cristiano Ronaldo, her reference to head coach Marc Skinner – and why the England star is blissful for the Red Devils to go underneath the radar

Ella Toone has her leg strapped to an ice-compression machine when she logs on to speak to Mail Sport.

It’s little wonder given the 25-year-old from Tyldesley, Greater Manchester has played 6,471 minutes for Marc Skinner in the WSL since he took charge of United’s women’s team four years ago, more than any other player.

It’s been an eventful few years too, with Toone establishing herself as one of the biggest names in the game, helped by her penchant for the big moments and rewarded with United’s vice-captaincy.

‘Destined for greatness’ is how her school friend and Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson recently described Toone. Whether it’s scoring the opener in a Euros final or in United’s first FA Cup-winning final, it’s fair to say that the midfielder, with her thick Lancashire accent and dry sense of humour, has found her groove under Skinner.

‘Ever since he came in, he really believed in me,’ she says. ‘I think I’ve matured so much in the time I’ve been working with him. The way I play on the pitch but also the way I hold myself off it. I’ve worked really hard with him on my mindset.’

The United boss has faced his fair share of criticism during his tenure, sparked by a string of high-profile departures like Mary Earps and Alessia Russo, as well as a dip in performances last season.

That criticism has since quietened, with United sitting in a Women’s Champions League spot and still on track in the FA Cup, and Toone believes that the team deserves more credit for it. What she doesn’t say is that she – one of United’s most important, passionate, and dedicated players – is also deserving of the plaudits.

‘Looking back on last season, it wasn’t the season that we’d wanted as a club and as players, but we’ve got some new players in now and we’re really hungry to do well.

‘We’ve really bought into Marc’s style of play, and he knows that he’s got an energetic squad with a lot of players willing to run through brick walls for each other, and we’ve really come together as a team and shown that in our performances.

‘I do think we slip under the radar a bit. You’ve got the “Big Three” teams of Chelsea, City, and Arsenal, and we are up there, competing with them.

‘But I think for us, we are not really bothered what other people think. We’ve got a good group of girls, really good staff, and if we’re under the radar, then that’s fine. We’ll go about our business and get on with it.’

Toone experienced the heartbreaking loss of her father last September, which coincided with an unfortunate calf injury, and she says that Skinner was someone who she sought out during this difficult time.

‘Throughout the hardest part of my whole life, he was there, and he got me through it. I know that his door’s always open, and I can have an honest conversation with him and ask for advice, but also, if I need a shoulder to lean on, I know that I can lean on him.

‘So, yeah, he’s been really good for me. He’s put his trust in me, and he’s played me. I can’t argue with a manager that wants me to go and play.’

A product of the United Youth Academy, Toone was forced to leave the club in 2013 with the Glazers having disbanded the women’s team. But this ‘little girl with a big dream’ of playing for her childhood team returned the moment she heard United had successfully gained entry into the newly formed Women’s Championship for the 2018-19 season.

A passionate United fan who grew up idolising Cristiano Ronaldo, anyone who gets the chance to meet Toone is quickly swept up by the palpable sense that she is living her dream.

‘I know what it takes to play at Manchester United, and I know what it means to the fans, to the players, to the staff to put on that shirt and play for such a big club.

‘When the new players come in, I make sure that they know about Manchester United – how you’ve got to play with that passion. It’s a massive feeling playing for this team and one that I’ll never take for granted.’

The playmaker was handed the famous No. 7 shirt worn by club legends David Beckham, Eric Cantona, and, of course, Ronaldo. Hers is consistently the most sold women’s shirt in the United Megastore.

‘It’s a pinch-me moment every time I see it and every time I pull it on, I think, “Wow. I was a little girl with a big dream – and one that probably wasn’t possible at the time – and now I’m stepping out onto the pitch for Manchester United and wearing my idol’s number seven shirt.”

‘And everyone knows what number seven means to Man United. It’s a big number, and a lot of legends have worn that shirt before, and hopefully, I can come under that bracket when I pass it on as well.’

But what does one of the game’s most recognisable female players make of all the noise surrounding the club and its direction of travel?

‘We don’t really look too far ahead. We’re in the moment now, and that’s taking each game as it comes. We want to be on the journey, we want to see the vision of where the club goes, but for us, we want to win trophies.’

Toone will be aiming for more memorable moments with England at the Euros in July, and she is quick to defend concerns about whether she and her promising United and Lionesses teammate, Grace Clinton, can coexist in the same team.

‘I don’t see that,’ she says. ‘When I’ve played with Grace, she’s played really well and scored a lot of goals, and vice versa.

‘She’s only come back into United this season, and I had a bit of an injury, so I was out of the squad for a bit, and it takes time to build those relationships, but I think we complement each other really well.’

Toone was speaking to Mail Sport through her partnership with Specsavers and their work with Tunley Athletic, ‘Britain’s Worst Football Team’ – a 100-year-old club that lost all 26 of their games last season.

It takes a moment of reflection, but Toone does recall playing in an underperforming side – one she helped set up while still at school. Her schoolmate, Hodgkinson, recently recalled the team in an ITV interview, the middle-distance runner joking about her own involvement playing in Toone’s side as ‘a bit of a stretch’.

‘I just got the ball and ran through everyone anyway, so it didn’t matter,’ Toone adds with a grin.

And it’s exactly that kind of confidence that the nation will be relying on this summer, with Toone ready and waiting to shine on the biggest of stages once again.