Man Utd legend Andy Cole on racism, from his Windrush father to Marcus Rashford

Andy Cole was one of the Premier League's greatest ever strikers. He is also among the handful of players to put on both the red and blue shirts of Manchester United and City.

The treble winner with United would be one of the first people to speak to for tips in front of goal. However, in an interview with The Mirror Cole is able to share as much insight on coal mining.

The 51-year-old is a direct descendent of the Windrush generation, with his dad, Lincoln, emigrating to the UK from Jamaica in 1957. He went on to work as a coal miner in Nottingham for 22-years.

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"My father was one of the first," says Cole. "He wasn’t an individual who would shout about it. But when he passed away, coming up to a year now, I got to find out just how revered my dad was for being one of the pioneers. It made me feel really special."

Lincoln's story was brought to life at The Digging Deep, Coal Miners of African Caribbean Heritage exhibition, curated by historian Norma Gregory, at the Woodhorn Museum in Ashington, Northumberland, three years ago. It was part of The Black Miners Museum Project, which collected more than 240 names of miners and interviewed over 60 of them.

Many of the stories highlighted frequent racism and the dehumanisation suffered during their everyday lives. Although camaraderie in the pits and solidarity with their white counterparts also shone through.

Cole said: "The way my Dad broke it down to me was that he found there was more camaraderie down there than there was above ground because once you go down there, everyone is in the same position. Your skin colour makes no difference. So if there’s an accident, incident or whatever, everyone