 After the war , McNichol returned to Hurlford , but , amid interest from other clubs , he accepted a trial with Newcastle United . After two trial matches , he signed professional forms with the club on his 21st birthday . McNichol spent two years at Newcastle , but never made a first @-@ team appearance . Behind the likes of England international forwards Roy Bentley and Len <unk> in the pecking order , he doubled his income working as a motor mechanic for a local funeral director whose " two or three Rolls @-@ <unk> [ made ] a nice change from working on bus engines " . In his second season , he was part of the reserve team that won the Central League title , but a disagreement over personal terms on his contract renewal – the Newcastle management felt a lower wage was justified because of the player 's earnings outside the game – prompted McNichol to seek first @-@ team football elsewhere . 
