Macca was a friend of David Platt, when the pair were in the same year at Bessie Street School.
In March 2000, David fought with Macca and some other boys including Macca's 14 year old cousin, Craig Smith, after they discovered David's sister Sarah-Lou was pregnant and called her a slag. This forced Gail and Martin to admit to David that Sarah was indeed pregnant. It transpired that Sarah's best friend Candice was responsible for the other children learning about her pregnancy.
David and Macca later made friends again and David mentioned the fact that Macca had a dog, as part of his attempts to convince his parents to allow him to have one in August.
In October, when the school year were going on an outward bound trip, David planned to 'pair up' with Macca who was supposedly into extreme sports. Gail, however was alarmed by the £180 fee needed for the trip, in addition to a list of other necessary items, especially as circumstances meant she didn't have much money to spare. Gail had recently separated from Martin and left her job at Roy's Rolls to help care for granddaughter Bethany, an extra mouth to feed. David instead that Martin would pay but Gail was reluctant to rely on him for money, upsetting David. Ultimately, Martin agreed to pay for the school trip.