It’s a ritual that every Saints player must go through – singing to the team on their first away trip.

A daunting prospect for all, it can end up being downright humiliating for many.

That was never likely to be the case for summer signing Shane Long, though.

You see, the striker, who joined the club in a £12m transfer from Hull City, is not just an accomplished footballer – he also boasts a fair bit of musical talent.

“I play a bit of music, I play a bit of guitar, and I stand up and sing when there’s a sing-song no problem at all,” says Long, smiling as he recalls his initiation ceremony ahead of the opening-day fixture against Liverpool.

“But, to stand up in front of the lads on a chair and everyone’s staring at you and there’s no music to drown out your voice, it’s very nerve-racking.

“It was good. I think there was five of us that done it the same night, so it was a bit of fun, a bit of craic.

“But, yeah, I was shaking and stuttering – but I enjoyed it.”

Long’s song of choice was Latch, by Disclosure.

“It sounds a bit stupid now, but there’s a rendition by Kodaline that I like to play on guitar, so I kind of stuck to what I knew,” says the Republic of Ireland international.

While football might dominate things, it is quite clear that music – and the guitar in particular – also plays a big part in Long’s life.

“My family is very musical,” he says. “My dad played and my two brothers play.

“I think everyone in my family plays some sort of instrument – my cousins and that.

“I love it. People have Xbox and PlayStation and stuff, but for me it’s playing the guitar.

“That’s my time to mellow out and relax and try and get away from the pressures of football a little bit.”

Long insists his talents should not be overstated – “I can handle myself, but I wouldn’t say I was that good,” – but, given he comes across as such a modest and charming individual, it is safe to assume he is better than he lets on.

“I’ve played on stage a few times when we’re out in pubs and out in different places – just a bit of a sing-song here and there,” he explains.

“When you’re in Ireland I think you have to be able to sing a song, because you’re going to be asked at some stage, so, yeah, why not.

“I add a guitar in there to drown out the voice.”

Long took up playing the instrument when he was 13, having been inspired by his father, Eamonn, to do so.

Tragically, his dad would pass away from a heart attack when Long was 16, but he continues to keep a close connection to him through music.

“I still have his guitar from when he used to play,” says Long. “It’s nice to have.”

Having been shown the way by his dad, Long, who has two daughters with his wife, Kayleah, is hoping that he can soon teach his own children.

“Music is a big thing in my family, so hopefully I can pass it on to the next generation,” he says.

“It’s enjoyable for me and hopefully it will be the same for them.”

It is not just football and the guitar where Long’s talents lie, however. He was also a skilled hurler during his teenage years.

“I played a lot of hurling,” recalls Long, of his days in an impressive Tipperary minors side, which featured in two All-Ireland semi-finals at Croke Park, as well as two Munster finals.

“I had to make the decision when I was 16 I think, whether to pick soccer, as we call it in Ireland, or hurling.

“I took a gamble at the soccer (Long played for Cork City) and a year later I went to Reading and I never looked back.

“I do keep in touch in the summers when I go back home. I train with the local team and kind of feed the craving for a bit of hurling.

“It’s a big sport in Ireland. It’s mad.

“People would find that hard to believe, but leaving hurling for soccer I was kind of stoned a little bit by the locals and that, but they kind of understand now.”

That is no surprise, given the heights the polite, unassuming lad from Gortnahoe has reached.

After Cork and Reading, Long’s journey took him to West Brom, Hull and, most recently, Saints, while he has become a regular for his country in between.

The belief shown in him by his latest club – paying such a big fee, and handing him their famous number-seven shirt – is something that means a lot to the 27-year-old.

“It is massive,” he says. “It’s a lot of money to spend.

“People ask me ‘Is it extra pressure on your shoulders and that?’ but I go in and give my all every week.

“If that’s not good enough then I can look back and say ‘Well, I gave it everything and it wasn’t to be’.

“But I think they respect my qualities as a player, they know how I play.

“They paid money to get me in. It wasn’t just fluke, they researched as well, so they wanted me here, and I took good confidence from that and hopefully the fans can see that as well on the pitch, that I give my all for the jersey.”

Long will be doing just that when Manchester United visit tonight, and he is hopeful the match will see Saints snap their two-game losing streak.

“Yeah, it’s a big crisis at the moment,” he says, with a grin and a laugh.

“I think people are thinking we’re out of place at the moment where we are in the table and kind of waiting for us to fail or whatever, but I don’t think that’s the case.”

Long, who explains how he is enjoying learning a new wider role at Saints, adds: “It would be nice [to beat United], because I think we deserved more out of especially the Arsenal game.

“To go two games without any points, to get three from a possible nine, and then into Burnley, hopefully six from a possible 12, and, you know, it would get things back on track again.

“It won’t define our season if it doesn’t all go to plan on Monday, but it would be nice to get us a kick into December, into one of the busiest times of year.”

Despite United being a club in transition right now, Long knows it will not be easy for Saints.

But he has promised Louis van Gaal’s team that it won’t be for them either.

“It’s still the club it is,” he says. “It’s still got that aura about Man United that they expect to win.

“They won’t give us anything easy, and we know we need to be on the top of our game to get a result, but we’re confident in the way we play and the players we have that we can get the three points.

“It’s up to them to come here and earn that, and we won’t give them anything easy.”