Carlisle United boss Greg Abbott is delighted seeing Aaron Lennon do so well for Tottenham.

Abbott was an Under-14 coach at Leeds United when he first set eyes on ­Lennon, 25, and made it his mission to sign him for the club.

He said: "We were playing Everton, who were all over us, yet we won 3-0 with this ­little kid from Chapeltown ­scoring a hat-trick. I knew then he'd go on to play for England.

"From that day, I set out on a ­personal crusade with Aaron, his dad Winston and brother Tony to get him to sign a ­contract and we managed it.

"The club used to give me two ­hundred quid to take his family out for a meal and, every time, they'd ­politely decline and ask me if we could go to ­McDonald's ­instead.

"The biggest bill I ever spent was £9.80 - and that included my own Big Mac. All ­Aaron ever wanted was burger and coke, while his dad had coffee."