The day Shaun Derry became an instant Leeds United hero
Tucking into beans on toast surrounded by a group of chain-smokers in a Leeds greasy spoon cafe hardly seems the ideal preparation for making your Elland Road debut.
But a new superstition could have been born for Shaun Derry in February 2005 after the midfielder marked his home bow with the winning goal for Leeds United against West Ham United. Derry was the first to admit goalscoring - at the time averaging just one per season in his career - was not his forte, but that could all change after he stumbled upon a new pre-match superstition. "Every footballer has their own pre-match routine and I always have pasta, chicken, beans and scrambled egg for my meal. I am staying in a hotel at the moment with my girlfriend and I rang down to reception, but they wouldn't do my pre-match meal, " he told the YEP. "So we had to walk into town and we ended up in a greasy spoon cafe near the market. I was sitting there and said to my girlfriend 'You do realise that if I score today, we will have to come here every Saturday?' I had beans on toast and about seven Lambert & Butlers due to it being so smoky in there. I had to shower when I got back to the hotel, but it did the trick." READ MORE: 'Deano for England' - Memories of the day Leeds United hit QPR for six
