My kit plea alright on the knight

A FEW years ago, while I was doing a shirt collection for the Depression Alliance, I found myself in the tunnel at Villa Park ahead of an Aston Villa game against Manchester United.

I asked the Villa boss Alex McLeish if I could go into his office to ask Sir Alex Ferguson for a Manchester United jersey, and he told me: “Yeah, sure, he’ll be all right about that, he’s just watching the horse racing.”

So I knocked and walked in, and Sir Alex (above), a keen racing fan, sort of half-looked at me without taking his eyes off the TV.

I told him what I was after, and he said simply: “Tell the kitman I said it’s okay.”

They were the only words he spoke but he conveyed three messages during that brief exchange.

One: “What the hell are you doing in my room on a matchday?”

Two: “I’m watching the horse racing and I don’t want interrupting.” But three: “Yes, that’s fine.” It always struck me that I got to see the knight of the realm in that moment, the man the Beckhams, Nevilles and Scholeses of this world wouldn’t mess with.

Sir Alex (above) had tried to sign me when I was at Nottingham Forest but Frank Clark wasn’t interested in selling me and United ended up buying Andy Cole instead.

But he still rang me afterwards and said: “Keep your chin up, you never know if Eric (Cantona) may or may not go soon, and if he goes I’ll be back in for you.”

It was a nice touch, he didn’t have to say that and it showed me a real mark of the man.

Like the rest of the football world, I wish Sir Alex a full and speedy recovery.