WHEN Kieran Richardson waved goodbye to Manchester United in the summer of 2007, he did so safe in the knowledge that he had been given the perfect grounding to become a household name on the Premier League stage.

During five years at Old Trafford, he was given an insight into what it takes to become a success at United under the watchful eye of Sir Alex Ferguson.

Love them or loathe them, the Premier League leaders have been the benchmark for fast approaching two decades.

But when Ferguson names his team, a team fighting for five titles this season, to face Sunderland at the Stadium of Light this afternoon, along with the world-class names he has paid huge sums for there will be a healthy blend of academy produced talent.

And Richardson, who claimed his own fair share of winners’ medals during his time there, has described the sort of mentality required as a United academy graduate to be in with a chance of catching Ferguson’s eye.

As an 18-year-old in 2003, Richardson was the driving midfield force behind an FA Youth Cup final success over Middlesbrough – a glorious run that means just as much to him as the Premier League or playing in the Champions League.

“When I went to United one of the first things I wanted to win was the Youth Cup,” said Richardson, who played alongside Wearside teammates Phil Bardsley and Paul McShane in that team. “A lot was made of the Beckhams and the Scholes, who had won it before, and the coach, Eric Harrison, never let us forget that.

“We had a good team and when you win it you think ‘we have made it’. But we were quickly reminded that we hadn’t. There was still a long way to go.

“It was drilled into us very early that winning the Youth Cup was important. Even at a young age you are told that winning is a habit. That’s all they know down there. You can see it in the first team and every player at United, young or old, is only intent on winning matches and winning things.

“You look at the first team squad and all they are looking at is winning the next trophy, not the ones that have arrived before.”

Things could be no more different than they are now, with Richardson’s eye solely focused on trying to keep Sunderland in the Premier League this season – just as he did with West Brom four years ago.

When United head for Wearside this afternoon they need the victory to keep ahead of Liverpool in the title race, while Sunderland could do with winning to keep clear of the relegation zone.

But while Richardson’s desire is only to give Sunderland’s survival push a huge lift, he also admits he will always fondly remember the years he spent graduating through the ranks at Old Trafford.

“I’m looking forward to it.

I’m still friends with people there but when you move on you move on,” he said.

“I have great memories down there, winning the Premier League, the Carling Cup, the Charity Shield, playing in the Champions League. Great memories.

“Being there every day was magnificent. Being around the best players in the world, coming through the youth ranks, you can’t pay for that experience.

“It was a really good experience.

As a kid coming through I was made to feel welcome.”

As a teenager from Greenwich, it is difficult to imagine that a schoolboy from southeast London would opt to uproot from his family at the age of 15 and head for Manchester.

But when Ferguson came calling for the former West Ham academy midfielder, there was no choice to be made.

“West Ham wanted me to stay but my mother was adamant,” said Richardson.

“I left London, went to Ashton on Mersey School, a specialist sports college in Manchester, I was living in digs.

We trained Tuesdays and Thursdays and had a game on a Saturday until I turned fulltime.

“If it wasn’t for United I wouldn’t be the player I am today. The youth set up there is magnificent. It was a big move for me. I had to go to pursue my dreams.”

Dreams, though, do not tend to include relegation battles.

And, keen to avoid enduring that nightmare, Richardson knows what a victory over his former club would do to help keep Sunderland in the Premier League.