McMahon taking the fame game in his stride

Like most young men in the country, Tony McMahon likes nothing better on a Saturday night than to curl up on the couch with his girlfriend to watch Match of the Day.

Shoes off, cup of tea in hand - a scene repeated in countless homes up and down the land.

Unlike most young men in the country however, when McMahon settles down in front of the television in the Evenwood home he still shares with his parents, he does so to watch himself.

Fame moves in mysterious ways, but there's little stranger than the definitive proof that your life has changed out of all recognition. For McMahon, that change is something he still cannot quite believe has occurred.

Back in September, the 18-year-old somebody was still a nobody. Despite captaining Middlesbrough's youth team to FA Youth Cup glory last season, McMahon remained largely unknown outside of the closely-knit Academy set-up at Boro's Rockliffe Park training ground.

He could wander the Evenwood streets he grew up on unhindered, could stroll through Middlesbrough town centre without anyone batting an eye, and was about as likely to appear on prime-time TV as Bernard Manning.

But, in the space of 90 minutes on October 3, McMahon went from starry-eyed youngster to star.

At Old Trafford - the home of the club he had idolised as a child - McMahon made his professional debut for Boro in a 1-1 draw against Manchester United. The moniker has grown somewhat tired recently but, on that day at least, the ground really was the "Theatre of Dreams".

And, since then, rather more dreams have turned into reality. Three European appearances - including a starring role against Italian giants Lazio - a 4-0 away win at Blackburn in his second outing in a Boro shirt, and a sensational display against Liverpool that helped the Teessiders into the top four of the Premiership.

There have been times when McMahon has wanted to pinch himself to believe it has really happened, when he needed a voice from the past to convince him he is really living in the present.

Last month, he finally heard that voice. And it came from Alan Hansen.

"It's all happened so fast that there have been times when I haven't really understood what's been happening," admitted McMahon, who was voted Teesdale's Junior Sports Personality of the Year when he signed his first full-time contract with Middlesbrough in 2002.

"But, every now and then, things do hit home and it's usually when you're least expecting it.

"It's stupid things that seem to affect you the most. The whole fame thing's weird because you're just not prepared for it.

"It really hit me when Alan Hansen singled me out for praise one night on Match of the Day. I was sat with my girlfriend and I had to turn the television right up because I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"My girlfriend was grabbing me and saying 'Listen, listen', and my mam and dad both came running in saying 'Have you heard this son'.

"There have been a lot of special moments in the last few months, but that stands out as a moment when I really couldn't believe what was going on.

"Alan Hansen was tipping me to play for England. He's someone who I've listened to all my life, and suddenly there he was saying my name and talking about how well I'd done. Mind you, I might react differently when he starts slagging me off."

Hansen hasn't been the only part of McMahon's past to have collided so spectacularly with his present.

When the youngster marked Ryan Giggs out of the game on his debut, the fairytale was heart-warming enough.

Yet things became even more unbelievable when McMahon's mother, Tracey, revealed her son had slept under a Ryan Giggs duvet cover some eight years earlier.

Suddenly, the teenager was rubbing shoulders with his heroes and, initially at least, it was difficult to come to terms with the shift in status.

"I can remember walking into the tunnel at Old Trafford and seeing all of the Manchester United players lining up in a row," said McMahon. "All I could do was stare at them.

"It seemed strange - like a film or something like that - but Chris Riggott turned round and could tell I was struggling to take it all in.

"He just said 'Don't be fazed by them and don't be scared of them - they're just footballers'. I needed that because it took my head out of the clouds.

"I don't think I'm like that so much now. There are still times when I can't quite believe I'm doing what I'm doing, but now I feel like I belong here and I'm more concerned about how I'm going to mark these players than who they are or what they've done.

"I think it helps having the other young lads around. I've grown up with lads like James Morrison and we can help each other out by talking to each other and remembering what we've done to get here."

McMahon's route to Boro's first team has involved such sporting luminaries as Staindrop Comprehensive School and Sunday League teams in Byers Green but, had he pursued a slightly different course, his sporting history could have centred around Evenwood Cricket Club.

His father, Tony, still boasts a mean square cut and, from the age of 11, McMahon junior looked like following in his father's footsteps.

He was drafted into Durham's junior side and, three years ago, he helped the county's youngsters earn one of their most notable successes. Whisper it around Mark Viduka, but McMahon has done something very few English cricketers have achieved - beaten Australia.

"I played a lot of cricket when I was younger," said McMahon. "I played against Australia when I was 15 and that was brilliant. It's really stayed in my mind because you don't get the chance to do something like that every day.

"I loved cricket - and I still do - but I only ever really played when there was no football on. I just love sport. If I could have done, I would have been playing sport every second of the day.

"I think Durham were interested in me, but my football career took off before they were able to do anything about it.

"People have told me I could have made it in county cricket, but it was never an option once things started to happen with my football."

After the three months he has just had, you would think McMahon's New Year resolution might be to sit back and take stock. Instead though, he is planning even greater things for 2005.

"I've always set myself targets," he said. "My target this year was to get into the first-team squad and hopefully play in the Carling Cup. I've gone beyond that, so I suppose a new set of targets are needed for next year.

"I want to stay in the team although, in reality, I know Michael Reiziger and Franck Queudrue are always going to play when they're fit. It's just up to me to make sure I'm ready for when another chance comes.

"The Under-21s are another ambition. I've seen my name linked with that in the papers and I would love that to happen next year.

"There's been talk. Martin Hunter (Under-19s coach) was up here the other day and he said 'We've got the championships to look forward to at Under-19s, but I don't know what Peter Taylor's (Under-21 coach) thinking. He might want you there."

Either way, it's safe to assume that McMahon's Saturday nights will never be the same. And he doesn't need Alan Hansen to convince him of that.