So I've agreed to run this year's London Marathon at ridiculously short notice in order to raise money for FC United's Development Fund.

'Why raise money for a football club?’ you may ask. Well, FC United are not just another football club, they are a Community Benefit Society who do a hell of a lot of good work in the communities of Moston and North Manchester. This includes coaching in local schools, continuing our partnership with junior football club Moston Juniors, running our academy and regular collections for food banks, refugees and Manchester's homeless.

January's Big Coat Day, hosted before a recent home game, was the 12th year in a row that fans and well-wishers donated and collected warm clothing to distribute to the homeless. This was only a couple of weeks after we opened our ground to the homeless of Manchester on Christmas Day for the second year in a row.

I've never ran so much as a 5K before so please spur me on by donating to my fundraising page so FC United can continue their great work. I hope to run the London Marathon in under six hours but I'll be over the moon if I just manage to complete the course in enough time to receive an official time! Every donation big and small is very much appreciated.”