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Former Ipswich boss Mick McCarthy has revealed it only took five minutes to see Tyrone Mings’ huge potential.
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Mings was a surprise inclusion in Gareth Southgate’s latest England squad for the upcoming Euro qualifiers against Bulgaria and Kosovo.
But McCarthy, who signed the 26-year-old for the Tractor Boys, always knew the Aston Villa star would rise to the top.
Back in 2012, when Mings was plying his trade at non-league Chippenham Town, McCarthy watched the centre-back in a practice match.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
McCarthy, now Republic of Ireland boss, told talkSPORT: “I was walking across to watch him in a practice match and after watching him for five minutes I said, ‘I’ll sign him now’. He was that good.
“He’s done as well as I would’ve expected and you knew he was going to be a player from the minute we signed him.
“His attitude was always aggressive. He was 18 and he was talking to people, sticking his foot in, kicking people, winning the ball.
“I took him off after 17 minutes and he was annoyed. He said, ‘Why did you take me off?’ I said, ‘Because I want to sign you and you’re going to get injured’.”
That proved a catalyst for Mings’ extraordinary rise, but until then, an England call-up seemed a million miles from reality.
While at primary school, Mings was forced to live in a homeless shelter with his mum, Dawn, and three sisters for one year.
After being released by the Southampton academy at the age of 15, he considered quitting football altogether as he took on a job at a pub pulling pints and then becoming a mortgage adviser.
Mings told talkSPORT: “I think in moments of difficulty, there are always moments of positivity you can take away from them.
“And lessons you can learn from any experience that you go through.
“So everything I experienced growing up, a lot of people would have gone through different backgrounds and upbringings.
“But it has definitely given me an ability to empathise with other people maybe outside of the game, or people that aren’t as fortunate as me.
“So, not that I feel it is my duty, but I really enjoy being able to lend a hand and give back to people that are in situations that I was not too far away from at a certain time in my life.
“So I think, as footballers, we are in the public eye and we are role models to kids growing up. So I think we have to try and do what we can to help out and give back where we can.”