Youth footballers abandon team talk for steam train

A youth football manager has said he "loved it" when his under-9s unexpectedly abandoned their post-match team talk to chase after a steam train.

Blandford United Royals' head coach Adam Day said his players had just finished playing Swanage away on Sunday, close to the Swanage Railway, when the locomotive chugged past.

"As I turn to begin our post-match team talk, I've totally lost them," he joked, as video of the excited footballers has racked up millions of views on social media.

Day, who has coached the side for three years, said: "It was genuinely great to see them so happy and just being kids."

He called them "fantastic boys" who were "full of cheek but respectful".

Day, who also acts as club secretary for Blandford United Youth FC - the team's parent club, said reaction to the video online had been "unreal" with thousands of people commenting on the post.

"It's really highlighted youth football in a brilliant way," he said.

"There shouldn't be all these pressures on young kids and just let them be kids."