He calls modern footballers pampered p....... donnas.

His little home office was replete ....... mementoes of his all too short professional playing career, photos, shirts and dusty old memories.

Sometimes he is so wrapped ...... in his memories that he doesn't hear you speaking to him.

He was daydreaming about playing football and it was almost impossible to snap him ....... of it. (wake him up/get his attention)

There he sat, staring off into s....... with a gap-toothed grin on his face.

“I was ..... contention ...... a place in the Manchester United academy I’ll have you know.”

So when my school football coach was struck down with heart trouble, the first thought that p......... into my head was of grandad.

I thought he would j....... at the chance but....

...but it took me a few days to talk him ....... it. (convince/persaude him)

I started by dropping h...... over dinner every time he came over, (making indirect comments)

then I decided to ...... to the chase and ask him outright.

Despite his grumblings about being too long in the t........, the first training session of the new season came around and there he was. (old)

there he was on the touchline in a b........ new tracksuit barking orders from the sidelines.

Without so much as a “sorry kid”, he ....... me aside and told me I was being unceremoniously dropped ...... the team.

The poor opposition were no m......... for grandad’s team. (much worse than)

The poor opposition were no match for grandad’s well-oiled m..........

I have to admit that it was a s......... of genius on grandad’s part, because guess who was first on to the pitch at training the following week?

That’s right, yours truly, turns out I respond well to t....... love! (strict discipline from close friend/family)

Over the next few weeks I really busted a g...... for the team. (make a big/strenuous effort)

Over the next few weeks I worked really hard to get back in grandad’s g..... b....... (to make grandad like me again)

It was the business end of the season and the games were coming t....... and fast, (there were a lot of games)

so when our star striker came ...... with a cold on Wednesday night, (suddenly suffer)

I missed an easy chance and grandad was on my b...... pretty quickly. (criticise/shout at sb)

But I soon settled into the game and got in the z...... (be very focused)

As I was mobbed by my teammates at the final whistle, I g....... over at grandad, (look briefly)

I caught a g........ of that familiar grin and the glassy, far-away look in his eyes, (saw for a short time)

I caught a glimpse of that familiar grin and the glassy, far-away look in his eyes, broken only by an almost ................ (PERCEIVE) wink….