Soccer AM

Thomas: releases autobiography

We got back to the jail and it was about twelve o' clock and it was locked! So I said 'what are we going to do' and they said 'it's not what we're going to do it's what you're going to do! You're going to have to climb back in'!.

Mickey Thomas
Quotes of the week

Manchester United legend Mickey Thomas told Soccer AM about the time he had to break back into prison!

The former Welsh winger has been a great friend of the show over the years and admitted he was delighted to be back as he entertained everyone in the studio with one joke after another.

As well as being a superb footballer in his day, Thomas is of course just as well known for being sent to prison for his role in a counterfeit currency scam in 1993.

Fifteen years on and he has just released his first autobiography which details his time behind bars and the affect that it had on him.

He gave Max and Helen a little insight into what we could expect in the book and revealed how a night out with some football loving prison officers ended up with him being locked out of jail!

"I was fortunate enough that the prison officers used to look after me and take me out for a drink and that," he said.

"Obviously because I'd played for various clubs I'd tell stories (about my time there) and I went out with these two officers.

"One was a West Bromwich Albion fan and I had played for them so I was telling them a few football stories in this pub and they said 'we've got to go back to the jail now'.

"So I said 'I'll tell you a few more stories if you can get me another drink', so they said no problem. We got back to the jail and it was about twelve o' clock and it was locked!

"They said to me 'we've got a massive problem here, it's locked.' So I said 'what are we going to do' and they said 'it's not what we're going to do it's what you're going to do! You're going to have to climb back in'.

"So they got me a ladder and I climbed back in!"

Difficult

Thomas, who played for 13 different clubs in a career spanning over 20 years, revealed how being a journeyman did help him in prison.

However he admitted that, all joking aside, it was the toughest nine month of his life and something which he would never want to repeat.

"I was lucky that I had played for various clubs because even people from Liverpool would associate me with Everton for the short period of time I was there, so I got on well with everyone really," he said.

"But I just wanted to get in there and get out. It wasn't an experience that I would want to go through again to be truthful."

"It wasn't an easy road that I've been on," he added. "Obviously there's a lot more people out there who have had difficult roads themselves, but it's how we respond to the things that happen to us."