'United We Stand' editor Andy Mitten coming to Warrenpoint Town Hall this Saturday

​Andy has been covering the club since 1989, watching them play in 45 different countries, and he has written 13 books throughout his career.

With the Europa League Final against Tottenham Hotspur taking place next week, Andy will field questions from the audience and give his thoughts on how that game will go, what the future holds for the club, and what it will take for United to return to their glory days.

Ahead of the event, Andy spoke about what’s in-store on the night.

Q: What can people expect on the night in Warrenpoint?

A: “I'll give insight. People can ask me questions about what's going on at Manchester United. I feel I can say stuff which stays in the room, which is far more discreet than putting it out there publicly on social media.

“I'll give some stories about my time as a journalist. Travelling around the world, I've seen Manchester United play in 45 countries, meeting lots of characters, supporters, great players.

“I've interviewed probably 600-700 players from Maradona to Lionel Messi to all the Manchester United guys. I'd like to think a lot of them trust me as well. That's why they talk to me.”

Q: What's your best moment following/covering United?

A: “The best game was Juventus 2-3 Manchester United in Turin in 1999. Winning the treble that year was spectacular. I've been lucky enough to see the world following Manchester United.”

Q:And the worst/lowest?

A: “Probably the Glazer takeover 20 years ago; that still has reverberations now. The current team are pretty dire as well.”

Q: United’s Irish fan base has always been huge. How important is that connection?

A: “It’s very important. It's huge. It's significant. I see loads of Reds at every single Manchester United game I go to. I'm fortunate to call some of them friends. I've travelled all around the island of Ireland and met Reds there.

“I think the history of the players coming from Ireland, from all sides of the community is long-standing and some of the best players of Manchester United's history have come from the island of Ireland, from Roy Keane to George Best.

“So it is important and it's appreciated and I've got a huge number of listeners and United We Stand readers in Ireland.”

Q: Despite a poor League season, United are into a major European Final again. What are your thoughts?

A: “Well, it's kept the season alive. It's been a terrible league season but Europe's been brilliant. I’ve been to great cities like San Sebastian, Lyon, Istanbul, Bucharest and Bilbao.

“We're going back to Bilbao and amid the dross of the league season, it's been an absolute buzz. It's been exciting. It's been unpredictable.

“It's been nervy, anxious-ridden because this Manchester United team, let's be honest, are not that good. But Europe has been a blessing of this season.”

Q: Ruben Amorim - can he bring United back up to the levels they were at during Fergie's era?

A: “We hope so. People invest in that idea but he's got an extremely difficult job and on the evidence seen so far, there's not many people who are convinced.

“He still gets a huge amount of support from fans, and they sing his name at every game. But I'd be lying the day after losing against West Ham if I said that things are going great. But winning the Europa League would give a massive boost to his confidence.

“Champions League qualification would give Manchester United more finances to go out and get the players that they want in the summer transfer window.”

Q: How much are you looking forward to coming to Warrenpoint?

A: “I'm looking forward to coming to Warrenpoint. I've never been. I've heard it's beautiful, but I've only ever passed through Newry when I've gone between Belfast and Dublin.

“I love to go to new places. I love to meet new people. I'm really interested in history, sporting history.

“I'm really looking forward to coming and to meeting United fans. Hopefully they'll find me interesting and they can ask me anything.

“It's like if you met me in a pub, I get asked questions all the time and I'm very careful what I say publicly on social media. But in a more private, intimate setting, I think I can be very open and honest and tell people what's been going on and tell them some stories you maybe wouldn't have heard before.”

The event takes place at 7.30pm this Saturday night. For tickets, see: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/united-by-andy-mitten-tickets-1299439722189