Autobiography

stories, especially when it is a club the size of
United.
Too often the anger leads to the manager not
facing the press or sending a member of his
coaching staff to the after-match press
conference, which leaves the fans feeling
cheated. I would say to Sir Alex,
‘Don’t take everything so seriously. Take
criticism with a smile and move on, after all,
you are one of the greatest and most
successful managers of all time.’
Manchester United regularly beat Birmingham,
and we rarely scored a goal against them. I
have always spoken to Sir Alex and shaken
hands after games; in return I have received a
grunt or two. After one home game against
United I went into Steve Bruce’s room, next
door to the dressing room, as I usually do on
match days. In there on this occasion was Sir
Alex, and once again I went over and
congratulated him on a magnificent victory. I
was given another handshake and another
grunt as I tried to engage him in conversation,
only to find he was looking over my shoulder at
his interview on the television.
He was, once again, charmless and rude, and I
guessed he was ignoring me as a result of the
comments I had made two years earlier at a
press conference. But come on, this isn’t lifethreatening.
Like Simon Jordan he’d had his
revenge several times on the pitch, but still he
could not be bothered to be civil. I made my
excuses and left. There was no way I was
414