Clash of the Titans

MILLIONS watched the Green Bay Packers win the Super Bowl — but now local players are set for their slice of small screen glory.

Oldham members of the Manchester Titans will appear on Vernon Kay: Under Pressure at 9pm on ITV2 on Wednesday.

The hour-long show follows the Family Fortunes presenter (pictured) as he tries to get the now-defunct American football team Manchester Allstars back together for one last game.

Vernon, from Bolton, has been passionate about the sport since he first watched the Super Bowl on TV at the age of 13. He played for the Allstars but his dreams of making it big were taken over by his on-screen career.

Former Allstars players were reunited for the programme and some of the training sessions took place at the Chapel Road synthetic pitch in Hollinwood as they prepared to take on the UK’s top university American football team.

Titans marketing officer Paul Smyth said: “The players loved it. One of the great things was working with the coaching staff that Vernon and the production team put together. All of them had some kind of NFL experience.

“Just taking part in the training sessions with that quality of coaching staff was something our lads enjoyed.”

Paul said there were around 50 or 60 senior clubs in the country.

Manchester Titans play in the British American Football Association Community League, gaining promotion to Division One last year. They had back-to-back unbeaten league seasons.

Paul added: “I have never known a sport like American football for the camaraderie.

“I know sports where you have to have a particular set of skills to play the game. In American football, it’s more varied and there is more opportunity to be involved.”

For more information on Manchester Titans visit www.manchester-titans.co.uk.